Global Covid-19 cases “increased sharply,” the World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological update with the Americas region showing the largest jump.
Israel plans to remove all countries – including the US, UK and the United Arab Emirates – from its “red” no-fly list as domestic Covid-19 infections hit a new record.
Meanwhile, airlines continue to cancel and delay flights by the thousands as their operations struggle with workers calling out sick with coronavirus.
Our live coverage has of the pandemic has moved here.
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In 4 US states, less than half of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, CDC data shows
From CNN's Deidre McPhillips
Here’s the latest data on vaccination efforts in the US, published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Fully vaccinated: 62.4% of the total US population (all ages), about 207 million people
In four states, less than half of the population is fully vaccinated: Alabama, Idaho, Mississippi and Wyoming
In five states, at least three-quarters of the population is fully vaccinated: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont
Not vaccinated: at least 21.3% of the eligible population (age 5+) has not received any dose of Covid-19 vaccine, at least 66 million people
Current pace of vaccinations (7-day average): 1,072,127 doses are being administered each day
Most doses being administered – about 597,000 – are booster doses.
Only about 304,000 people are initiating vaccination each day.
About 73 million people have received a booster dose
About 23% of the total US population is now fully vaccinated and boosted
The pace of booster dose administration ticked up amid the Omicron variant’s early initial spread but has since trailed off.
Note: CDC data on Covid-19 vaccinations are estimates. The agency notes that data on people who are fully vaccinated and those with a booster dose may be underestimated, while data on people with at least one dose may be overestimated.
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Chicago public school classes canceled for third day as clash over Covid-19 safety concerns continues
From CNN’s Rachel Burstein Parks
A sign is displayed on the front of the headquarters for Chicago Public Schools on January 5, in Chicago.
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) informed parents Thursday evening that classes will be canceled again on Friday for the third consecutive day as the district and Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement.
Some context: The decision comes as CPS, the third-largest school district in the country, canceled classes for more than 340,000 students Wednesday and Thursday after the Chicago Teachers Union voted Tuesday night to refuse to show up for in-person work, citing concerns over Covid-19 safety.
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National Guard deployed again to help New Hampshire hospitals deal with Covid-19
From CNN's Sharif Paget
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced the deployment of another 100 National Guard members to help the state’s healthcare system amid a rise in Covid-19 cases.
About 30 guard members will be deployed to long term care facilities and 70 will be sent to hospitals that provide critical care, Sununu said on Thursday at a Covid-19 news briefing.
Thursday’s decision comes as new daily cases over the past seven days averaged 1,766 new infections, a 55% increase compared to the previous seven-day period, according to data obtained by the state’s health department.
In early December: Sununu announced that 70 National Guard members would be deployed to help hospitals where the need is most severe, assisting with tasks that will allow for a smoother operation.
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Lousiana sets a new record number of daily Covid-19 cases for the state
From CNN’s Chris Boyette
Louisiana reported at least 14,077 Covid-19 cases in the state Thursday, a record number of cases in a 24-hour period, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference.
Louisiana State Health officer and Medical Director Dr. Joseph Kanter said that to avoid further burdening hospitals, don’t go to the emergency room for Covid-19 testing.
He acknowledged that take-home tests can be difficult to obtain in the state, but said PCR testing centers are open and available, but if someone has symptoms and can’t get a test, they should assume they have Covid-19.
Some context: There are 1,412 people hospitalized across the state of Louisiana with Covid-19, an increase of 125 since Wednesday, the governor said.
“The percentage of emergency department visits related to Covid-like illness remains at an all-time high. The average daily incidence of Covid has exceeded its Delta surge peak across the state of Louisiana,” the governor said. “What is not captured on our Covid dashboard currently are reinfections, which we are seeing more of because of the Omicron variant than we saw before.”
Of those hospitalized with Covid-19, 76% of them are not vaccinated, Kanter said at the news conference.
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CDC to hold independent Covid-19 briefing Friday
From CNN's Katherine Dillinger and Michael Nedelman
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a briefing Friday to give updates on the Covid-19 pandemic.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. ET.
It’s been a few months since the agency had held a briefing like this: The CDC usually participates in joint briefings with officials from the White House or the National Institutes of Health, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Its last independent Covid-19 briefing was July 27, 2021.
The agency has faced renewed criticism this month over confusion surrounding its guidelines on testing and isolation for people who test positive for Covid-19.
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Omicron makes up around 90% of Covid-19 cases in Maryland, officials say
From CNN's Amy Simonson
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, right, speaks during a briefing in Laurel, Maryland, on January 6.
(WJZ)
Sample test results confirm that Omicron makes up approximately 90% of the Covid-19 cases that health officials are seeing surge throughout the state, according to state officials.
Hogan, who spoke from a new testing site at the University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center, announced the launch of 20 additional testing locations across the state that will be set up outside hospitals in an effort to divert people from going to emergency rooms for Covid-19 tests.
According to Hogan, officials are already seeing dramatic drops in emergency room visits in hospitals where testing sites are set up outside.
Hospitals across the state are seeing a rapid rise in patients arriving with Covid-19, according to president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System Dr. Mohan Suntha, who also spoke at the briefing.
Suntha said that in a span of one month, Covid-19 patients across the medical system rose from 200 to 800.
“Seventy-five percent of the patients who are currently admitted in our hospitals with Covid-19 across the medical system are unvaccinated,” he said.
Less than 5% of all patients who are hospitalized with Covid-19 are vaccinated and boosted, according to Suntha.
Some context: Hogan declared a 30-day state of emergency earlier this week, mobilizing 1,000 members of the National Guard to assist state and local health officials with the state’s emergency pandemic response and to provide operational support to help open and operate testing sites.
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Peru tightens Covid-19 restrictions in 25 provinces
From CNN's Hande Atay Alam
People stand in line to wait for PCR tests in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday, January 5.
(Martin Mejia/AP)
Peru raised its coronavirus pandemic alert level to high and will implement new restrictions starting Friday, including a curfew in 25 provinces, according to state news agency Andina.
Peru detected its first four cases of the Omicron variant in the country on Dec.19 and is dealing with a “third wave” of infections, state media said.
The new restrictions include a curfew from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time and new capacity limits for businesses and commercial activities.
In addition to Lima and Callao, the provinces that will move to the high alert level are Ica, Pisco, Cusco, Cajamarca, Jaén, Piura, Sullana, Sechura, Talara, Trujillo, Pacasmayo, Chiclayo, Santa, Puno, Huaura, Bagua, Chachapoyas, Tacna, Huancayo, Satipo, Mariscal Nieto, Ilo, and Tumbes, Andina reported.
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White House expects to share details on Covid-19 testing contracts within the next day
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
The White House expects to share details over the next day about contracts between the federal government and manufacturers to produce the 500 million rapid Covid-19 tests President Biden had said Americans would be able to order for free.
Some background: Biden announced last month a plan to order half-a-billion at-home rapid tests that Americans could order online for free. The White House said they would be available in January, though didn’t specify an exact date.
Psaki said the administration would “absolutely” be able to meet the January goal, saying that efforts to stand up the program had been ongoing.
“A lot of these things are happening simultaneously,” she said, noting the request for proposals to companies had closed this week and the contracting process was underway.
“We don’t want to put the website up before we know we can provide, even through pre-orders, tests as people want them,” she said.
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1% of Mayo Clinic employees fired for not complying with Covid-19 vaccination program
From CNN’s Carma Hassan
(Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)
The Mayo Clinic said 1% of its employees have been terminated for not complying with its required Covid-19 vaccination program.
The health system said “the needs of the patient come first” in a statement emailed to CNN.
“This is a time when Mayo Clinic must stand firmly behind the evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines to help protect the health and safety of our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities,” it said in the statement.
The Mayo Clinic has 73,000 employees, according to its website.
Complying with the program means receiving at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and not being overdue for a second dose if taking the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine. Nearly 99% of employees met the program’s Jan. 3 deadline at all the Mayo Clinic’s locations, according to the statement.
“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings,” the statement said.
The Mayo Clinic has campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as dozens of locations in other states, according to its website.
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More than 800 Los Angeles fire and police tested positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Stella Chan
The city of Los Angeles is safe, assured Mayor Eric Garcetti, despite Covid-19 infections hitting over 800 fire and police department staff.
Garcetti announced 505 police officers and 299 fire department sworn and civilian employees are in quarantine at home, as of Wednesday. “These are big numbers, numbers that are reflecting the staffing challenges that we all face,” said Garcetti.
He says five out of six members in both departments are fully vaccinated, while about 82% of workers citywide are in compliance with the mandate, requiring full vaccination by mid-December. Garcetti has authorized overtime funds to cover police and fire staffing in addition to enhancing recruiting to fill out staffing levels.
“Our continued response time will see some delay in routine calls,” said LAPD Chief Michel Moore but stressed 911 services are fully staffed.
LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said the number of firefighters off-duty due to the virus is “the highest we’ve seen at any one time,” noting that a few weeks ago, it was 24. Adequate daily staffing for the fire department is a combination of those on assigned shifts, voluntary overtime, and those who are force hired – employees notified as they are headed home for the day that they need to continue to work. “Our response time have been impacted by our lack of staffing due to Covid,” said Terrazas. Critical life support calls increased by 13-seconds from 2020-2021 while structure fire calls have increased by six-seconds, he said.
During the news conference, a man in the crowd repeatedly interrupted speakers, calling attention to the shooting death of a teen in a Burlington department store in late December. Garcetti, on his 100th Covid address to the city, switched topics and said he’s been laser-focused on the investigation into the LAPD’s fatal shooting of Valentina Orellana-Peralta. He promised “maximum transparency, sensitivity, and accountability.”
“We are sworn to protect and serve and there is no greater circumstance than to lose an innocent victim and to lose a child while we’re trying to come to the aid of the very people in that store, in this crisis moment, it is just unimaginable,” said Moore heavily. Like the mayor, he reiterated transparency and commitment to the investigation. Moore said the attorney general’s office has full access to the police department’s investigation.
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Italy surpasses 200,000 Covid-19 cases in a single day for the first time
From Livia Borghese in Rome
Cars line up at a rapid swab testing drive-through site in Rome on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.
(Andrew Medichini/AP)
Italy has recorded more than 200,000 new daily Covid-19 cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to official data.
The country’s health ministry reported at least 219,441 new daily Covid-19 cases on Thursday. There were 198 Covid-19 related deaths reported, bringing the overall deaths to at least 138,474.
The Italian government made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for anyone over 50 years old on Wednesday.
Unvaccinated workers who are 50 years old or older risk being fined between 600 and 1,500 euros under Italy’s new coronavirus decree, a government source told CNN Thursday.
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Former Biden health advisers say the US needs to change its Covid-19 strategy to face a "new normal"
From CNN’s Jamie Gumbrecht, Naomi Thomas and Virginia Langmaid
People wait in line to get tested for COVID-19 in Times Square, New York, on Dec. 20, 2021.
Seth Wenig/AP
Former health advisers to President Biden say the US strategy on the Covid-19 pandemic needs to be updated to face a “new normal” of living with the virus, rather than aiming to eliminate it.
In three pieces published in the medical journal JAMA on Thursday, six former Biden advisers proposed a new plan and detailed strategies for testing, mitigation, vaccines and treatments.
They push for modernized data infrastructure to provide real-time information, a bolstered public health workforce, more and empowered school nurses and moves to rebuild trust in public health institutions. Substantial resources will be needed to “build and sustain an effective public health infrastructure,” they write.
In the article on testing, surveillance and mitigation strategies, Emanuel, David Michaels and Rick Bright called the initial response to the virus “seriously flawed.” The authors called for low-cost and accessible testing with immediate advice when someone receives a positive results; improved air and wastewater surveillance and genomic sequencing; and government involvement in mitigation, including paid sick leave for all US workers and a voucher program for accessing N95 and KN95 masks.
In another piece, Dr. Luciana Borio, Bright and Emanuel call for vaccine mandates, variant-specific vaccines and accelerated efforts to develop a universal coronavirus vaccines, as well as rapid development of effective oral antivirals. “Integral to achieving and sustaining this ‘new normal’ are both faster development and more efficient deployment of vaccines and therapeutics,” they write.
Some of the advisers have spoken up in the past about the Biden administration’s Covid-19 response, including in February, when four advisers and other experts urged mandates around N95 masks in a memo to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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Cameroon launches massive Covid-19 operation ahead of Africa Cup of Nations
From CNN's Stephanie Busari
A worker sits at his desk while waiting for people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 at a vaccination center at the National Museum in Yaounde, Cameroon, on November 29, 2021.
(Daniel Beloumou Olomo/AFP/Getty Images)
Cameroonian authorities have launched a massive testing and vaccination operation against Covid-19 ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) soccer finals starting Sunday.
Hundreds of vaccination points have been opened in all six cities hosting the competition, in line with requirements by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
CAF will require supporters to show proof of vaccination in addition to a negative Covid-19 test before they can enter stadiums.
Cameroon’s Health Minister Manaouda Malachie reiterated CAF’s position Wednesday, urging locals to get vaccinated and be tested for the virus ahead of the competition.
Cameroon is struggling to contain a burgeoning Covid-19 crisis with vaccine hesitancy still rampant among residents. Only 4.6% of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the last published figures.
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There is "no particular risk" in proceeding with Winter Olympics, WHO leader says
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
Authority personnel wearing a protective suit watches as a media bus stands by for people arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday, January 5.
(The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP)
Given the prevention measures put into place by China for the upcoming Winter Olympics, the World Health Organization does not expect increased Covid-19 transmission associated with the games, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, said Thursday.
“They have released a series of different playbooks, we continue to review those playbooks with the IOC. I’m confident that given the information we have that the measures that are in place for the games are very strict and very strong and we don’t at this point see any increased risk of disease transmission in that context.”
Ryan said the country has seen “pretty large” outbreaks of Covid-19 in recent weeks, but the government has been “taking a very strong approach to dealing with those outbreaks.”
“Certainly at this stage, given the arrangements that have been put in place for the athletes and by the organizers, we don’t perceive that there’s any particular extra risk in hosting or running the games, but obviously we will keep all of the measures that are being put in place under constant review.”
The Winter Olympics are set to begin in Beijing on Feb. 4.
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Airlines cancel another 1,600 flights, citing worker coronavirus cases
From CNN's Pete Muntean
Unclaimed baggage starts to pile up outside the Southwest Airlines baggage claim at Denver International Airport on Monday, January 3.
Airlines continue to cancel and delay flights by the thousands as their operations struggle with workers calling out sick with coronavirus.
Carriers have canceled more than 1,620 flights by Thursday afternoon and delayed more than 1,350 nationwide, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
On Wednesday, US airlines canceled a total 1,790 flights and delayed another 6,097 flights.
Southwest Airlines has canceled 562 flights, 18 percent of its total schedule, as of noon Thursday, more than any US carrier.
United Airlines has canceled 227 flights, 11 percent of its Thursday schedule. United is now offering pilots who pick up extra trips up to three times their normal pay through the end of the month.
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Israel will remove all countries from its "red" no-fly list
From CNN's Elliott Gotkine and Michael Schwartz
Planes sit on the tarmac at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, east of Tel Aviv, on December 21, 2021.
(Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images)
Israel plans to remove all countries – including the US, UK and the United Arab Emirates – from its “red” no-fly list as domestic Covid-19 infections hit a new record.
Starting at midnight local time, Israelis will be free to travel to these countries without special permission. Vaccinated or recovering returnees will only need to self-isolate until they receive a negative PCR test or 24 hours have passed. Unvaccinated returnees will need to take a PCR test when they arrive and then present a second negative result after a week of self-isolation. Starting on Sunday, non-Israelis will again be allowed to enter the country as long as they’re vaccinated.
“The government takes the economic consideration into account in every action. In order to reduce the infection rate, there needs to be very tough steps which there is no certainty that the government and the public are able to take,” Israel’s Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash told Israel radio Kan 11.
On Wednesday, the country had a record 16,115 new Covid-19 cases. On Monday, Israel began its rollout of a fourth vaccine dose, or second booster, to all medical workers and people over 60.
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Global Covid-19 cases "increased sharply," WHO says in weekly update
From CNN’s Naomi Thomas
Cars line up at a COVID-19 testing site at the South Orange Youth Sports Complex on December 30, 2021, in Orlando.
Global Covid-19 cases “increased sharply by 71%,” from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2 compared with the week before, the World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological update published on Thursday.
This sharp increase follows gradual increases since October.
Just under 9.5 million new cases were reported, WHO said, with increases in all regions.
Here’s what the data shows:
The Americas region was highest with a 100% increase. A 78% increase was reported in the Southeast Asia region, 65% in the European region, 40% in the Eastern Mediterranean, 38% in the Western Pacific and 7% in the African region.
The United States reported the highest number of new cases, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.
As of Jan. 2, there have been nearly 289 million cases reported globally.
There was a 10% decrease in the number of new deaths compared with the week before, with over 41,000 deaths being reported.
Only one region, the African region, reported an increase of 22% in the number of new deaths. Decreases of 18% in the Americas, 10% in the Western Pacific region, 9% in the Southeast Asia region, 7% in the Eastern Mediterranean region and 6% in the European region were reported.
Just over 5.4 million deaths have been reported across the world as of Jan. 2.
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Djokovic's family speaks out after Australia refuses tennis champ entry over Covid-19 rules
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy
The family of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic attend a rally in front of Serbia's National Assembly on Thursday, January 6, in Belgrade, Serbia.
(Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
The family of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic claim the Australian authorities took away all his belongings after revoking his visa to enter the country on Wednesday.
The tennis player’s brother Drodje Djokovic told journalists during a news conference in Belgrade Thursday that the athlete “hasn’t broken a single rule or law of the federal government of Australia.”
Djokovic’s brother claimed that other tennis players had the “same document” as him, yet “he’s the only one detained at the border and denied entry.”
He went on to describe the Australian authority’s treatment of his brother as a “serious diplomatic breach,” recounting how communication was abruptly severed between the player and his family.
Djokovic’s phone was eventually returned and he was taken into another isolation room, he added.
After his visa was revoked, the tennis player was taken through Melbourne Airport’s metal detectors and all his belongings and suitcases were taken away from, according to his brother.
“His wallet and change of clothes were taken away from him. He was taken to the migrant hotel, to a dirty room and was told that all his belongings will be given back to him on his departure to Europe,” he said.
The latest update Djokovic’s family received stated that if Djokovic returns to Europe immediately, he will be banned from entering Australia for three years. “The court’s response to Novak’s complaint was that the Australian authorities mustn’t deport Novak before Monday,” his brother added.
The family believe the tennis player wishes to stay in Australia and “seek justice” after “being treated like a criminal,” his brother continued.
His lawyers continue to work on the case to “set him free as he deserves to be,” his brother underlined.
Djokovic, the men’s tennis world no.1, hasn’t publicly revealed his vaccination status — but in a news conference on Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he “didn’t have a valid medical exemption” to the vaccination requirement for all arrivals.
“There are many visas granted, if you have a visa and you’re double vaccinated, you’re very welcome to come here,” he added. “But if you’re not double vaccinated and you’re not an Australian resident or citizen, well, you can’t come.”
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Austria imposes tougher Covid-19 measures to curb the spread of Omicron
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer presents the new COVID19- regulations at a press conference after a meeting of the federal government in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. The new regulations will come into force on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022.
(Lisa Leutner/AP)
Austria will impose tougher Covid-19 restrictions on its citizens and businesses in order to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced Thursday.
”Omicron represents a very new challenge for us all here in Austria,” Nehammer said following a meeting between the Austrian government and its main advisory body on the pandemic, the COVID-Crisis-Coordination (GECKO). “We need to do everything we can possibly do together to prevent another lockdown.”
Austrian Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein outlined the stricter rules that will be enforced starting Saturday. They include:
A compulsory wearing of European standard FFP2 (filtering face piece) masks outdoors if a distance of more than two meters is not possible.
Whenever possible, people should work from home.
Proof of vaccination or recovery to enter trade businesses, restaurants and cafes – supermarkets excluded – will apply upon entering these facilities. If businesses are not adhering to those control measures, they will be closed down.
Austria will also shorten quarantine times to five days, require people to wear masks outdoors when in crowds and limit the validity of vaccine certificates to six months.
Some background: Omicron became the dominant variant in Austria on Monday, which has led to a sharp increase in infection rates. On Thursday, Austria reported 8,263 new Covid-19 cases – nearly three times above the daily average number of infections last week – according to data from the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES).
The Austrian chancellor said that he expects infections rates to rise sharply in the next few days and weeks, with 17,000 new cases per day by next week and over 20,000 new daily cases forecast for the week after next.
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How Novak Djokovic's mother reacted after his visa was canceled after outcry over Covid-19 rule exemption
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy
A general view of the Park Hotel in Carlton on January 06, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. It is believed the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic was asked to quarantine in the Hotel over night. Djokovic arrived in Melbourne to play in the upcoming Australian Open and was denied entry to Australia due to his inability to meet Australian entry requirements.
(Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic’s mother told reporters her son is being “treated like a prisoner” by Australian authorities after the country canceled his visa following an outcry over his controversial “medical exemption” from the country’s coronavirus vaccination rules.
In a news conference, Dijana Djokovic said she had spoken briefly with her son on Thursday, adding that he told her he couldn’t sleep.
“They are keeping him as a prisoner. It’s just not fair. It’s not human,” she said.
The tennis player is thought to have been transferred to the Park Hotel in Melbourne after having his visa to enter the country blocked, according to CNN affiliates Seven Network and Nine News.
The hotel — previously used by the Australian government as a Covid-19 quarantine facility — is now being used as an Alternative Place of Detention (APOD) for refugees and asylum seekers.
“[The authorities] don’t want to give him any chance to move on to some better hotel or house that he already rented,” his mother continued.
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Belgium's head of viral diseases says fifth wave of Covid-19 has started
From CNN’s James Frater and Allegra Goodwin
Chairman of the scientific committee on Covid-19, Steven Van Gucht pictured at a press conference after a meeting of the consultative committee with ministers of the Federal government, the regional governments and the community governments, Thursday 06 January 2022 in Brussels. The nombers of patients in hospital continue to decrease from the fourth waves but contaminations seems to rise again with Omicron variant.
(Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/Sipa/AP)
A fifth wave of Covid-19 has started in Belgium with up to 125,000 cases a day predicted by mid-January, according to the country’s Head of Viral Diseases Steven Van Gucht.
“I think we can say that the fifth wave has started,” Van Gucht said at a government news conference in Brussels on Thursday. “If we look at the infection figures, the weekly average of the number of infections has increased by 82% in a week. A week ago we were at 6,500 infections per day on average, now there are almost 12,000.”
Van Gucht said there were “two phenomena at play” – the effect of parties and gatherings held over the festive period, and “the Omicron variant that can spread very quickly, which can also cause infections in people who already have an immunity or a partial immunity.”
He went on to say 80% to 90% of Belgium’s current Covid-19 infections were caused by Omicron.
“We expect that the peak will be reached somewhere in mid-January,” he said. “My fairly wide range is going to be somewhere between 30,000 to 125,000 infections per day.”
“You can clearly see from the projected figure that the upward trend has started and that it will continue quickly,” he concluded.
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Majority of passengers on plane flying from Italy to India test positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Swati Gupta and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Passengers arriving from Italy wait to undergo a Covid-19 coronavirus screening at at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on the outskirts of Amritsar on January 6, 2022.
(Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images)
At least 125 out of 179 passengers on a chartered flight from Italy to India tested positive for Covid-19, V.K. Seth, Director of Amritsar airport, said Thursday.
The flight was scheduled to arrive in Amritsar, a city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, on Thursday from Rome.
On arrival, according to Indian procedure, 160 of the passengers on the plane were tested. Nineteen were exempted since they were under five years of age.
More on India’s requirements: India enforced fresh guidelines for most international arrivals into India last month as the Omicron variant began to spread.
The country requires every passenger to submit a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to their departure, and for certain “at risk” countries, including Italy, a compulsory test on arrival.
India has registered a huge surge in cases this week. On Thursday, it reported 90,928 new Covid-19 cases, the highest number since June 7 and a 56.5% increase on the 58,097 cases it reported Wednesday.
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Tennis champ Novak Djokovic's visa to Australia canceled after outcry over exemption from Covid-19 rules
From CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton and Jessie Yeung
Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action during the Davis Cup Finals 2021, Semifinal 1, tennis match played between Croatia and Serbia at Madrid Arena on December 03, 2021, in Madrid, Spain.
Djokovic, the men’s tennis world no.1, hasn’t publicly revealed his vaccination status — but in a news conference on Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he “didn’t have a valid medical exemption” to the vaccination requirement for all arrivals.
“There are many visas granted, if you have a visa and you’re double vaccinated you’re very welcome to come here,” he added. “But if you’re not double vaccinated and you’re not an Australian resident or citizen, well, you can’t come.”
The 34-year-old traveled to Melbourne after tournament organizers, in conjunction with the Victoria Department of Health, said he had been granted a medical exemption to play but he was blocked at the border and told he had not met the required entry rules.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said Thursday it was up to Djokovic whether he wanted to appeal the decision– “but if a visa is canceled, somebody will have to leave the country.”
Djokovic’s legal team sought an urgent injunction against the Australian Border Forces’ decision to revoke his visa. The country’s Federal Court has adjourned the decision until Monday on whether he will be allowed to remain in Australia or be deported, according to Reuters and public broadcaster ABC.
Djokovic will be staying in Australia overnight as the injunction goes through the courts, ABC reported.
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Manchester City manager to miss Cup match
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok in London
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Manchester City's Pep Guardiola speaks to the press prior to Manchester City's Premier League clash against Leeds United at Manchester City Football Academy on December 13, 2021 in Manchester, England.
(Matt McNulty/Manchester City FC/Getty Images)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will miss Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Swindon Town after testing positive for Covid-19, the Premier League club announced Thursday.
City said in a statement that both Guardiola and his assistant Juanma Lillo recorded a positive test on Tuesday. Both are now isolating and assistant coach Rodolfo Borrell is set to take charge of Friday’s match.
Separately, Premier League club Burnley confirmed earlier on Thursday that their manager Sean Dyche will miss Saturday’s FA Cup third-round game at home to Huddersfield Town.
Dyche also tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday and is now isolating.
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UK's NHS declares "critical incidents" at 24 of England’s hospital trusts over staff shortages
From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London
Paramedics pass a row of parked ambulances as they unload a patient after arriving at Leeds General Infirmary hospital in Leeds, northern England on January 5, 2022.
(Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)
The number of NHS hospital trusts in England that have declared critical incidents amid a huge surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant has risen to 24, the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Thursday.
There are 137 NHS trusts in England, each of which covers a geographical area and can be made up of multiple hospitals and specialized services, such as an ambulance service.
“Extreme and unprecedented workforce absences” were cited in an internal memo by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust published by UK media, which is among the 17.5% of trusts to have declared a critical incident.
Shapps told Sky News it was “not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter often with things like the flu pandemic,” but added “there are very real pressures.”
He went on to defend the government’s decision to continue with Plan B measures, which include the mandatory use of face masks in most indoor spaces and the recommendation for people to work from home, rather than increasing restrictions.
“We are … always trying to find the right compromise between going too tight on restrictions, lockdowns, let’s face it, they have a lot of costs connected,” Shapps said.
“Then again, not wanting our hospitals to be overrun, and this is where I think the Plan B has been shown to be the right approach so far,” he added.
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Chinese health official apologizes after pregnant woman miscarries outside hospital in lockdown city
From CNN’s Beijing bureau
Two medical workers prepare to conduct nucleic acid tests on pregnant women in a closed community in Xi 'an, Shaanxi Province, China, January 6, 2022.
The local director for Xi’an Health Commission has publicly apologized to a woman who suffered a miscarriage after being denied immediate medical care as hospital health workers claimed her admission to facility would break local anti-pandemic rules.
The city of Xi’an is the epicenter of China’s largest community coronavirus outbreak since Wuhan, the original location of the pandemic. Residents have been living under a strict lockdown since December.
In a video posted to Chinese social media platform Weibo on January 3, a woman was seen sitting outside the hospital with a pool of blood around her feet. She was finally admitted hours later – but had lost her unborn child.
In a video posted on state media CCTV’s Weibo channel on Thursday, the director of Xi’an’s Municipal Health Commission, Liu Shunzhui, said: “On behalf of the Municipal Health Commission, I deeply apologize to the patient, and deeply apologize for the poor access to medical treatment and the inadequate implementation of treatment for special groups during the epidemic.”
He bowed to the public in apology following his statement.
Liu received a disciplinary warning from the ruling communist party on Thursday following a public outcry on social media after the woman – who was 8 months pregnant – was turned away from a hospital in Xi’an because she didn’t have a valid Covid-19 test.
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The Omicron variant has reached Iraq
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq in Atlanta
A health worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Baghdad, Iraq, September 29, 2021.
(Khalil Dawood/Xinhua/Getty Images)
Iraq has recorded its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to a statement released by the country’s health ministry Thursday.
Five people have tested positive with the highly transmissible variant in Dohuk province in northern Iraq, the statement said.
Several “foreign diplomats” also tested positive with the new variant in Baghdad, it added, without giving further details.
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US troops told to wear masks as Covid cases in Okinawa continue to rise
From CNN’s Brad Lendon and Mayumi Maruyama
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki meets the press at the prefectural headquarters in Naha, southern Japan, on January 6, amid a recent spike in coronavirus infections.
(Kyodo News/Getty Images)
The United States will bring in new measures on US military bases in light of the rise in Covid-19 cases, according to a Thursday press release from the United States Forces Japan (USFJ).
The decision comes after heavy criticism by local governments over the handling of Covid transmission among military personnel in Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. Earlier this week, the governor of Okinawa – which is home to several American bases – blasted the US military for failing to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.
“I’m outraged because the rise in the number of infected among US military personnel suggests that their management is not enough,” Denny Tamaki, Okinawa’s prefectural governor, said in a press conference Sunday.
What’s changing: New restrictions will include a mandated mask wearing while off base regardless of vaccination status, and requiring Covid-19 tests prior to, upon arrival, and while in Japan.
“The mitigation measures we have instituted throughout USFJ are intended to protect our force’s readiness, the well-being of our families, and the health of Japan’s citizens,” the statement said. “We recognize we all have a part to play in keeping our communities safe,” it continued.
Some background: Japan has been experiencing an uptick in Covid-19 cases, particularly in Okinawa, where 623 new infections were reported on the island, Wednesday. This is a significant jump from the previous day’s 225.
Last year, two US Marine bases in Okinawa – including Camp Hansen – were put into lockdown and restrictions imposed at other bases in the region, according to Kyodo News.
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Hong Kong official goes into government quarantine after attending birthday party
From Wayne Chang in Hong Kong
Isolation units at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
(Paul Yeung/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Home Affairs, Casper Tsui, is being sent to the government quarantine center, Penny’s Bay, after being identified as a close contact of a confirmed Covid-19 case at a birthday party held for a local official Monday.
Eight other senior government officials, including Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Hui Ching-Yu and the head of Hong Kong’s Police Force, Raymond Siu, were also present at the party but left before 9:30 p.m., when the positive case reportedly arrived.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said during a press conference Thursday that she was disappointed in those city officials, especially Tsui, and announced that there will be an investigation as to whether any pandemic prevention rules were broken at the party.
Officials who left before the confirmed case arrived will have to provide proof they left the premises in time by providing electronic records of their movements.
Hong Kong’s battle against Covid: Hong Kong reported its first Omicron coronavirus infection last week, following nearly three months without any local cases.
Along with mainland China, it is one of the few places in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid policy. That means most non-residents are banned from entering, while almost all overseas arrivals must undergo 21 days of quarantine – even if they are fully vaccinated.
Local restrictions have also been implemented, with indoor dining banned and entertainment venues such as cinemas, museums and bars and clubs temporarily shutting their doors. Read more:
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that Tsui was sent to quarantine after attending a birthday party.
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Thousands protest Germany's Covid-19 restrictions in multiple Bavarian cities
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
Police officers stand on the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany on Wednesday. Bavarian police are preparing for unannounced "walks" and gatherings of opponents of the state's pandemic measures in numerous municipalities.
(Sven Hoppe/picture-alliance/dpa/AP)
Around 3,000 protesters hit the streets of Munich on Wednesday as a show of force against Germany’s Covid-19 restrictions, leaving two police officers and three demonstrators injured, a police statement said.
Some 1,000 police officers were deployed to the scene to contain the demonstration, as some protesters attempted to break through police barriers, leading officers to use batons and pepper spray to disperse the crowds, the statement added.
Police also said they arrested one demonstrator, as well as filing over 1,100 charges for violations of protest regulations and at least 35 criminal charges.
Protests against the restrictions also took place in other Bavarian cities, such as Würzburg and Fürth, where police said around 400 and 1,000 people gathered respectively.
What’s the Covid situation in Germany? Daily cases declined in December after the country introduced stricter measures targeting those who have yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19, but infections started rising again a week ago.
On Thursday, Germany recorded 64,340 new cases within 24 hours – up 50% from the same day a week ago, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country’s disease control agency.
The country recorded another 443 deaths related to Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities since the pandemic began to a total of 113,368, the latest data also showed.
Germany has a low rate of vaccination compared with some other western European countries: 71.5% of the population is fully vaccinated and 40.9% have received a booster shot, the RKI data showed Thursday.
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Mandatory shots are not the best tool to boost vaccination rates, says French PM
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman and Dalal Mawad in Paris
French Prime Minister Jean Castex (left) and Jean-Jacques Bourdin during an interview on RMC/BFMTV in Paris, France on January 6, 2022.
(Raphael Lafargue/Abaca/Sipa/AP)
French Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that the country’s proposed vaccine pass would be “much more effective” than mandatory vaccination, in an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV.
The government has already had “difficulties checking the pass,” he said. “We would have even more of them in checking mandatory vaccinations,” Castex added.
Differentiating the two, Castex said mandatory vaccination could constitute “a fine” but the country’s “objective is to get people vaccinated, it’s not to fill the state coffers.”
The PM said countries like Italy that were introducing mandatory vaccinations had “very, very low” levels of vaccination compared to France.
Castex raised the example of some people in low-income neighborhoods who may choose to avoid medical care in general and who were not ideologically opposed to vaccination.
“Fining people like that will not help us to achieve our [vaccination] objectives,” he said.
Some context: His comments come after lawmakers in France’s lower house approved a bill earlier Thursday that aims to make it mandatory for people to show proof of being vaccinated to access many public venues and inter-regional public transport. The bill, once passed by the Senate, would remove the option of being able to show a negative test result instead.
A tense debate in France has emerged over how to deal with the unvaccinated minority of the population. The country has inoculated around 74% of its total population, one of the higher rates in the European Union. But it has been heavily hit by the more transmissible Omicron variant, and has reported record infections in recent days.
French health authorities reported 332,252 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, representing a new record since the beginning of the pandemic for the second day running.
Infections have been rising for several weeks with an average of 200,000 cases a day, according to the health ministry. While hospitalizations have reached their highest rate since May, they are not rising as quickly as infections so far.
But the majority of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are unvaccinated individuals, according to the French government. Health minister Olivier Veran has said that for each vaccinated person in the ICU, there were 20 people that were unvaccinated.
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Chinese city of Yuzhou sees spike in Covid-19 cases
From CNN’s Beijing bureau
China reported 132 locally-transmitted coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with 50 infections in central Henan province’s Yuzhou city, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).
Yuzhou’s Covid-19 numbers are fast approaching those of the city of Xi’an, the latest epicenter of China’s recent outbreak, which is under a strict lockdown.
Yuzhou launched a third round of mass testing for its 1.2 million residents on Thursday, the municipal government announced. The city was also placed under lockdown after two asymptomatic cases were reported on Sunday.
Rules under lockdown: The municipal government banned residents in neighborhoods with confirmed cases from leaving their homes. Whereas in neighborhoods without cases, each household was allowed to designate one person to pick up groceries.
All schools, public transport, public facilities and shopping malls have closed with the exception of essential services such as supermarkets.
Beyond Yuzhou: Henan province’s capital city of Zhengzhou reported five symptomatic cases and eight asymptomatic cases on Wednesday, according to NHC.
The city also locked down 10 neighborhoods where residents were banned from leaving their homes. Its 12 million residents are not allowed to leave the city except for essential travel, the municipal government announced on Wednesday.
Southeastern Zhejiang province’s city of Ningbo reported five cases on Wednesday believed to be linked to a cluster which originated from a maritime trade route with Vietnam.
Northwestern Shaanxi province reported 63 cases in Xi’an. Harrowing stories of loss and despair have emerged from Xi’an, where residents have been pushed to their limits under the stringent lockdown. Read our latest coverage here:
France's vaccine pass bill passes first stage of legislation
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman in Paris
French Prime Minister Jean Castex (center) speaks during a session at the French National Assembly in Paris, on January 5, 2022.
(Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)
France’s National Assembly voted to approve a vaccine pass bill early Thursday morning.
The bill passed its first reading with 214 votes for, 93 against and 27 abstentions.
This is the first major step in getting French parliament approval. The bill is set to be reviewed by a Senate commission Monday before its first public debate in the upper house the following day. If the Senate makes any changes, it will need to go back to a mixed committee of both houses for approval before being signed off by an executive council.
These developments come just days after French President Emmanuel Macron waded into intensifying political debate over vaccines and restrictions in the country.
In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Tuesday, Macron said he “really wants to piss off” unvaccinated people with the strict new rules for those who have refused the shot.
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India reports another sharp spike in cases driven by Omicron
From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi
Member of Health NTI Aayog Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul (c), Director-General at the Indian Council of Medical Research Dr. Balram Bhargava (R) and Joint Secretary of Health Ministry Dr. Luv Agarwal during a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation and vaccination update, at National Media Centre on January 5, 2022 in New Delhi, India. India is seeing an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases, which is believed to be driven by Omicron, the Centre said on Wednesday as the country recorded 58,097 fresh Covid cases.
(Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times/Getty Images)
India reported 90,928 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday — the highest since June 7, and a 56.5% increase on the 58,097 infections it reported Wednesday.
This is the second consecutive day that cases have risen by more than 55%, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health.
Of these new cases, more than 25,000 were reported in Delhi and Mumbai.
V. K. Paul, head of India’s Covid task force, said at a news conference Wednesday that “the acceleration of cases is steeper than ever,” and the spike was driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant — particularly in larger cities and the western part of the country.
India is now seeing an even higher infection rate than it had during the peak of its devastating second wave last year, he added.
The positivity rate of tests is also rising, at 5% on Wednesday — compared to just 1.15% on December 30.
Since the pandemic began, India has reported 35.1 million cases and more than 482,000 deaths, according to the Health Ministry. Of those cases, at least 2,630 are of the Omicron variant.
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Xi'an lockdown brings heartbreak and dysfunction as political pressure to contain outbreak grows
From CNN's Jessie Yeung, Nectar Gan, Yong Xiong and the Beijing Bureau
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, volunteers wearing protective suits package meals for delivery to people under lockdown in Xi'an in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province, Tuesday, January. 4, 2022. Hospital officials in the northern Chinese city of Xi'an have been punished after a pregnant woman miscarried after being refused entry, reportedly for not having current COVID-19 test results.
(Zhang Bowen/Xinhua/AP)
As the locked down Chinese city of Xi’an claimed victory this week in its fight to contain the community spread of Covid-19, harrowing tales of loss and despair have emerged on social media — highlighting the immense human cost of China’s zero-Covid policy.
The city of 13 million has been under strict lockdown since December 23, as it grapples with the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak since Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic. But local authorities have faced a public outcry over perceived incompetence, and disproportionately harsh measures that critics say harm the lives of those they are supposed to protect.
Over the past two weeks, Chinese social media has been flooded with posts from residents who say they have not received food, basic supplies, even medical care.
One heavily pregnant woman was allegedly turned away from a hospital on New Year’s Day because she didn’t have a valid Covid-19 test, according to a post from a user who said she was the woman’s niece. A video posted on January 3 shows the woman sitting outside with a pool of blood around her feet. She was finally admitted two hours later — but suffered a miscarriage, said the post, shared widely on Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo before it was deleted.
A staff member from Xi’an Gaoxin Hospital, where the woman sought care, told CNN they were investigating the incident, and that the hospital had initially turned away the woman in accordance with the government’s Covid-19 regulations, but declined to comment further.
Another user appealed for help online on Sunday after a local hospital refused to admit her father, who had just had a heart attack, because they lived in a “medium-risk area” of the city.
She later updated the post on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram-like platform, saying her father was allowed an emergency operation when his situation worsened significantly after several hours. “The delay was too long and rescue failed. I don’t have a father anymore,” she wrote.
The poignant accounts have sparked an outpouring of sympathy and anger online, with many questioning sacrifice in the name of epidemic control.
Japan asks US to impose restrictions on American military bases over Covid-19 concerns
From CNN's Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi meets the press in Tokyo on Jan. 6, 2022, after asking U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in phone talks to impose curfews on U.S. bases in Japan due to a recent surge of coronavirus infections among American military personnel.
(Kyodo News/Getty Images)
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to impose restrictions on American military bases in Japan due to a rise in Covid-19 infections among US military personnel.
In a phone call Thursday, Hayashi urged Blinken to introduce stricter coronavirus measures to “alleviate local anxiety among the Japanese public,” the Japanese government said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the governor of Okinawa blasted the US military for failing to contain the spread of coronavirus in Japan’s southernmost prefecture.
According to Okinawan government data, on Wednesday there were more than 800 US military personnel in isolation after recently testing positive in the prefecture.
Rising cases: On Wednesday, Okinawa reported 623 new infections, a significant jump from the previous day’s 225. That brings the total number of active cases in the prefecture’s local population to more than 1,200.
Meanwhile, new Covid-19 cases nationwide topped 2,000 for the first time in three months on Wednesday — the most since September 26, according to a tally by Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
Considering restrictions: Okinawa’s prefectural government said it will consider implementing a quasi-state of emergency to contain the virus, which requires bars and restaurants to shut early. The government will make a final decision at a task-force meeting Thursday.
On Tuesday, Okinawa raised its alert level to 2 on its five-stage scale across the prefecture, requesting people avoid crowded areas and limit private gatherings to four people for no longer than two hours, a prefectural official told CNN.
According to the Japanese government, Blinken asserted that both the health and safety of the US Forces in Japan and the local population are very important to the US. He pledged to do as much as possible to curb the spread of infections.
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Hong Kong allows more than 3,000 passengers and staff to leave cruise ship after Covid testing
From Teele Rebane in Hong Kong
The cruise ship "Spectrum of the Seas" is seen docked at a terminal in Hong Kong on January 5, 2022, after it was ordered to return to the city for coronavirus testing after nine people were found to be close contacts with a recent Omicron variant outbreak.
(Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)
More than 3,000 cruise ship passengers and staff were allowed to disembark in Hong Kong after being tested for Covid-19, a representative for the vessel’s owners, Royal Caribbean, told CNN.
“Spectrum of the Seas” was ordered to return to port on Wednesday after nine passengers were identified as close contacts of a preliminarily positive case. The nine were isolated, while all 2,500 cruise passengers and 1,200 crew members were held on board for compulsory testing.
The nine close contacts, who have tested negative so far, were sent to compulsory government quarantine.
Royal Caribbean’s “cruise to nowhere” trips, which sail around the South China Sea before returning to Hong Kong, have been popular in the city — which enforces some of the strictest border control measures in the world.
In a Facebook post, Royal Caribbean said all precautions had been taken, including requiring all eligible passengers and crew to be fully vaccinated, to file a health declaration and to test negative within 48 hours of boarding. Children ineligible for the vaccine also had to show a negative test and fill out a health declaration, it added.
Hong Kong reported its first local Omicron last week after going nearly three months without any local infection.
In an effort to break any local chains of Omicron transmission, the city will ban flights from eight countries on Friday and enact new social distancing restrictions, including closing gyms and bars.
Singapore says booster shots will soon be needed to keep fully vaccinated status
From CNN's Hannah Ritchie
A health worker fills a syringe with a diluent for with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at the Senja-Cashew Community Centre Vaccination Centre, operated by Thomson Medical, in Singapore, on Monday, March 8, 2021.
(Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Singapore will require a booster shot for adults to maintain their fully vaccinated status from February 14, the country’s Ministry of Health said Wednesday, citing the global surge of the Omicron variant.
Those vaccinated with two doses of a Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, or three doses of a Chinese inactivated vaccine, will see their vaccine status expire nine months after their last dose if they do not get a booster shot.
The new policy will apply to all vaccine-eligible persons age 18 and over.
Singapore’s 5.5 million residents are required to provide proof of full vaccination in order to enter shops, restaurants, and public venues across the city-state. About 88% of the total population have now received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, while 42% have received booster shots.
Omicron concerns: The Health Ministry said though the Delta wave had subsided, an Omicron wave is “imminent.”
On Wednesday, Singapore reported 805 new Covid-19 cases.
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CDC recommends Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine boosters for children as young as 12
From CNN's Katherine Dillinger
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations for the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster on Wednesday to include children as young as 12, at least five months after they finish the primary vaccine series.
On Monday, the FDA expanded the emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine boosters to children ages 12 to 15. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13-1 earlier Wednesday in favor of recommending the expanded use of Covid-19 boosters for children in this age group.
The CDC had authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use as a booster in ages 16 and 17 in December.
