Australia detained another tennis player a day after canceling star Novak Djokovic’s visa following an outcry over his “medical exemption” from the country’s coronavirus vaccination rules.
Thousands of flight cancellations and delays continue in the US as airlines struggle with workers calling out sick with Covid-19.
Global Covid-19 cases “increased sharply,” the World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological update, with the Americas region showing the largest jump.
Our live coverage of the pandemic has ended for the day.
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NYC Covid-19 sample testing in schools reveals almost 13% of students are positive, new data shows
From CNN's Rob Frehse
Nearly 13% of New York City students have tested positive for Covid-19, according to sample testing from the New York City Department of Education Thursday.
The testing, which includes only about 18%, or 332, of the approximately 1,875 city schools, is a sample snapshot that was taken during a 24-hour period Thursday, according to the data.
According to the data, 12.9%, or 1,892 students, tested positive out of 14,623 tested.
By comparison, only 5.85%, or 140, of the 2,392 staff members tested positive during the same time period, according to DOE data.
No schools are closed at this time due to Covid-19 cases, according to additional DOE data, but six school classrooms remain closed.
CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia and David Shortell contributed to this alert
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CDC director urges parents to surround young children with vaccinated people
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
With hospitalizations in children under 5 reaching the highest they’ve been over the course the pandemic, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urged parents to surround their young children with people vaccinated against Covid-19.
An average of 4.3 children under 5 per 100,000 have been hospitalized for Covid-19 as of the week ending Jan. 1, up from 2.6 the week previous, according to data from the CDC’s COVID-NET surveillance system.
This is a 48% increase from the week ending Dec. 4, and the largest increase in hospitalization rate this age group has seen over the course of the pandemic.
According to data from the CDC and the US Department of Health and Human Services, new hospital admissions for children under 18 with confirmed Covid-19 are already at a record level, at an average of 797 each day.
This is the highest this rate has ever been and an 80% increase over the previous week.
“For our youngest children, those who are not yet eligible for vaccination, it’s critically important that we surround them with people who are vaccinated to provide them protection,” Walensky said.
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Spain passes 7 million Covid-19 cases since start of pandemic
From CNN’s Al Goodman
Spain surpassed 7 million Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 242,440 new cases registered since Wednesday, the country’s health ministry reported Friday.
The figures on Friday cover the last two days as Thursday was a national holiday in Spain.
The highest number of single-day new cases remains 161,668 on Dec. 30.
There have been at least 97 deaths since Wednesday and 22.06% of intensive care unit beds were occupied by Covid-19 patients, according to Friday’s report, up from 21.58% on Wednesday.
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National Hockey League postpones more than 100 games due to Covid-19
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
(Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
The National Hockey League (NHL) postponed two upcoming games due to attendance restrictions in Canada. They mark game 100 and 101 to be postponed by the NHL over Covid-19-related issues this season.
The Ottawa Senators’ road games against the Vancouver Canucks scheduled for Jan. 8 and against the Winnipeg Jets scheduled for Jan. 15 are the latest games to be postponed.
The NHL says it plans to reschedule those games for later in the season when attendance restrictions in Canada “may be eased or lifted.”
Nearly 30 New York lawmakers urge mayor to provide a remote option for schools
From CNN's Kiely Westhoff
A student walks to her classroom at Yung Wing School in New York on January 5.
(Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Nearly 30 New York lawmakers are urging the New York City mayor to provide a remote option for all schools for two weeks to slow the spread of Covid-19, according to an open letter to the mayor Thursday.
The proposed schedule will provide schools with more time to receive shipments of masks, testing kits, and other tools to execute universal weekly and baseline Covid-19 testing, they say in the letter obtained by CNN. It was also posted on social media.
In a statement issued separately from the letter, New York State Rep. Jessica González-Rojas also raised concerns that the city has not been able to meet the requirement of testing 20% of all students.
“Last night we learned that the number of students the New York City Department of Education is testing is less than 20% of all students,” she said in the statement.
However, the Education Department said testing 20% of all students was never the policy.
“The goal is 20% of unvaccinated students,” said Nathaniel Styer, first deputy press secretary for the New York City Department of Education.
This is double the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirement of testing 10% of unvaccinated students, he said.
The department has distributed 1.8 million rapid test kids and have doubled in-school testing, according to Styer.
While Adams has not directly responded to the lawmakers’ letter, he maintained that students should be in the classroom at a news conference on Friday.
The mayor’s office did not immediately return CNN’s request for comment on the letter, deferring to the city’s Education Department.
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Biden administration signs first contract for free rapid test distribution
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
The Biden administration has signed its first contract with a test manufacturer as part of President Biden’s efforts to distribute half a billion free rapid tests throughout the country, a White House official confirms to CNN.
The Department of Defense awarded a $51 million contract to Goldbelt Security, LLC, “for delivery of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits.” With this contract, the administration is purchasing existing tests that the company has, according to a White House official.
The administration plans to sign other contracts for manufacturing.
Officials have offered few details since Biden announced the endeavor to send free test kits amid a nationwide shortage and surge in new cases. But they expect to launch a website this month where people can sign up for the tests online and then ship them out.
The first contract has been signed and more are expected in the coming weeks, officials said.
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New York governor announces testing and mask requirements for nursing home visitors
From CNN's Laura Dolan
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that all nursing home visitors must test negative for Covid-19 within 24 hours of visitation and also wear a surgical mask.
Hochul called it a “point of vulnerability” while noting an increase in Covid-19 cases in nursing homes.
Hochul said the state will provide Covid-19 tests to nursing homes to make sure they have the supply for visitors.
She noted that she was limited in what she could mandate at nursing homes because of a federal requirement “that there can be no restrictions whatsoever on visitors.”
Hochul also spoke about the increase in the rate of child Covid hospitalizations, saying it “is an area of anxiety” for her.
Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said the rate of hospitalizations is increasing fastest among children. The rate of hospitalizations among children under the age of 5 has increased nearly eight-fold. It has increased ten-fold for children ages 12-18. Children under the age of 5 are not eligible for vaccination. This is faster than the rate for adults.
But she noted that the overall number is still fairly small. Currently, 571 children are hospitalized with Covid, she said.
“It’s the rate of increase more than the numbers that have made us very concerned about these children,” Bassett said, adding that “many of these children are admitted with Covid, not for Covid.”
She urged parents to vaccinate and boost their children, saying, “the vast majority of children who are hospitalized are unvaccinated.”
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CDC director connects child hospitalization rates with high Covid-19 case counts and increased testing
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
While Covid-19 hospitalization rates in children are higher than they have been at previous points in the pandemic, that might not be a signal that the Omicron variant is inherently more severe in children, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday.
“This very well may be the fact that there are just more cases out there and that our children are more vulnerable when we see that they have more cases surrounding them,” she said.
“We are seeing a rise in hospitalizations, both because they are coming in with Covid but also because they’re screening in for Covid. And so I would say we don’t yet, have not yet, seen a signal that there is any increased severity in this age demographic,” she said.
Walensky said while hospitalizations are increasing in children, they’re increasing in other populations as well. She presented data from the CDC COVID-NET surveillance system tracking Covid-19-related hospitalizations. According to CDC data, in the week ending Jan. 1, children under 4 had 4.3 Covid-19-associated hospitalizations per 100,000. This number fell to 1.1 in children ages 5 to 17, but both are well under the rate of 14.7 in adults over 65.
The CDC director also said this is the typical time of year for other types of illnesses to land children in the hospital.
“When we talk to our colleagues in these pediatric hospitals, what we’re hearing is, yes, there’s a lot of pediatric admissions associated with many things and other respiratory viruses. We’re seeing more than … we generally do,” she said.
Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, close to 82,000 children have been hospitalized with Covid-19, according to most recent data from the CDC.
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CDC study: Pfizer's Covid vaccine is 91% effective in preventing rare condition in adolescents age 12-18
From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips
Teens receive their vaccination cards after being vaccinated in Los Angeles in May 2021.
(Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)
The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is 91% effective in preventing multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) in adolescents age 12 to 18, according to a study published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
MIS-C is a rare but serious condition that involves the inflammation of various organs and generally occurs two to six weeks after infection with Covid-19.
The CDC study found that the vast majority — 95% — of adolescents hospitalized with MIS-C were unvaccinated, and all that required respiratory or cardiovascular life support were unvaccinated.
For this study, CDC researchers analyzed data for 283 adolescents ages 12 to 18 who were hospitalized between July and December 2021, a period during which the Delta variant was dominant. The cohort included 102 patients with MIS-C and 181 control patients. Children under 12 were not included in this analysis, as they were not yet authorized to receive a Covid-19 vaccine during the time that the study was conducted. The median age of patients included in the study was 14.5 years and more than half had at least one underlying medical condition.
There have been more than 6,400 cases of MIS-C reported to the CDC, including 55 deaths.
About 54% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated, and 16% of children ages 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the latest data from the CDC.
This specific study does not assess the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against MIS-C attributed to the Omicron variant. Also, the researchers note that the timing in which protection against MIS-C is conferred is unknown. The study does not evaluate protection after one dose of vaccine or the potential effects of waning immunity or protection.
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New York governor to require all health care workers to get a Covid booster shot
From CNN's Laura Dolan
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that she is mandating all health care workers get a Covid-19 booster shot within two weeks of eligibility.
“Healthcare workers will be asked to do this with no exemptions other than a medical exemption and no test-out options,” Hochul said at a press conference Friday.
Hochul said New York is the first state in the nation to require a booster shot for health care workers and called it an important priority to prevent healthcare workers from getting sick amid breakthrough Omicron cases.
Hochul said she discussed the mandate with acting Health Commissioner of New York Dr. Mary Bassett.
Bassett will make the recommendation to the state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council at a special meeting being held on Jan. 11. Hochul said she “anticipates swift approval” and the mandate will take effect “immediately.”
The council advises the health commissioner on issues related to public health and also has decision-making responsibilities for state’s public health and health care delivery system, according to the New York State Department of Health.
All health care workers were previously required to be fully vaccinated in September.
As of Friday, there were more than 11,500 people hospitalized for Covid-19 in New York, Hochul said.
Hochul added that she believes the state is reaching the beginnings of a plateau, although she cautioned it’s not official yet.
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CDC director: Before considering fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose, US has to get more people a third shot
From CNN’s Jamie Gumbrecht
People are vaccinated at Los Angeles International Airport on December 22, 2021.
(Ringo H.W Chiu/AP)
Although Israel has moved to give fourth doses of coronavirus vaccines to certain people, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday the United States has to focus first on getting third shots to more people.
Walensky noted the United States has boosted about 35% of the eligible population — including 60% of people over 65, who are especially vulnerable to severe Covid-19.
Walensky said CDC is in touch with scientists in Israel to track booster data there.
“We will be following our own data carefully, as well, to see how the boosters are working in terms of waning effectiveness, not just for infection, but importantly for severe disease. So more to come as those data emerge,” she said.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said at a Goldman Sachs health care conference on Thursday that more people may need a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine this fall as booster doses are likely to become less effective over time.
A preliminary Israeli study found that a fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine raises coronavirus antibodies five-fold in a week’s time. People who are 60 and older, health care workers and those with weakened immune systems are eligible for fourth doses in that country.
The Canadian province of Ontario will offer fourth doses to people in some high-risk settings such as long-term care homes and retirement homes.
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Biden: "Covid as we're dealing with it now is not here to stay"
(Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
President Biden said he doesn’t think Covid-19 is “here to stay” in its current iteration after making remarks about the economy and the latest US jobs report.
The President said the country is in a very different place than it was a year ago in dealing with Covid-19, touting that many schools are open and the administration is ordering more tests.
“The new normal is not going to be what it is now. It’s going to be better,” he said.
On Thursday, a group of former Biden health advisers wrote that 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.
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South Africa's Omicron surge was shaped like an "ice pick," CDC head says. What that could mean for the US.
From CNN’s Jamie Gumbrecht
The wave of Omicron Covid-19 cases in South Africa was an “ice pick” rather than a wave, and the United States may see a similar precipitous rise and fall in cases, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a CDC telebriefing on Friday.
There are some reasons to expect the surges will look the same — and reasons they may differ, she said.
“I do think in places that we are seeing this really steep incline, that we may well see also a precipitous decline,” she said. “But we’re also a much bigger country than South Africa, and so it may very well be that we see this ice-pick shape, but that it travels across the country. Right now, we’re of course seeing it in the Northeast in the highest burden.”
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CDC recommends people get Moderna booster after five months
From CNN’s Ben Tinker
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
During a telebriefing on Friday, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said she has signed off on a recommendation by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that people who have received the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine get a booster shot at the five-month mark, as opposed to six months, as previously recommended.
More on this: Earlier Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, shortening the period of time between initial vaccination and the booster shot to at least five months for those over the age of 18.
The FDA has already shortened the time needed before receiving a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from six to five months. The Pfizer booster is authorized for everyone age 12 and older.
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Germany tightens Covid-19 restrictions as Omicron cases increase rapidly
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses a press conference following a meeting on measures to curb the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic with the heads of government of Germany's federal states at the Chancellery in Berlin on January 7, 2022.
(John MacDougallAFP/Getty Images)
Germany will impose tougher Covid-19 restrictions in order to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant, the country’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Friday.
Fully vaccinated people and those who have recovered from Covid-19 will be required to show proof of a negative lateral flow test to enter restaurants, cafes and bars. Only those who have received their booster dose will be exempt.
Scholz also announced a shortened required period for quarantine or self-isolation from 14 days to 10 days, without undergoing a PCR test, and seven days with a negative PCR test. This applies to those infected with Covid-19 or who had close contact with an infected person.
Those who have received a booster shot will be exempt from quarantine when they come into contact with a positive case.
The chancellor said that Germany is currently seeing fewer Covid-19 infections compared to many of its European neighbors because of the stringent coronavirus measures already in place.
Scholz said that there would be no easing of contact restrictions — those who are vaccinated are allowed to hold private gatherings with up to 10 people; the unvaccinated are allowed to meet with one other household.
Scholz went on to say that Germany’s vaccination rate is still ”not high”. Data from the country’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, showed Friday that 71.6% of the population is fully vaccinated and 41.6% have received a booster shot.
Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz dunks during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on December 09, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has been placed on NBA’s Health & Safety protocols, the team announced on Thursday.
The NBA’s Health & Safety protocol requires coaches, players and staff to isolate if they have tested positive Covid-19 or been in contact with people who have tested positive. Players on the protocols list are not allowed to play and must quarantine for a minimum of five days or test negative for Covid-19 two times in a 24-hour period.
Gobert was infamously the first NBA player to test positive for Covid-19 in March 2020, a case that was followed by the shutdown of the 2019-20 season and subsequently all professional sports in the United States.
The three-time defensive player of the year drew backlash at the time, after joking about the Covid-19 pandemic at a news conference days prior by rubbing his hands on microphones as he walked away.
The 29-year-old is the second Jazz player to be placed on the protocols list, joining forward Joe Ingles. Prior to the two players being placed on the protocols, the Jazz were the only team in the NBA to not have had a player placed on the list this season.
This season, the NBA has had to postpone 11 games due to Covid-19 outbreaks within teams across the league. As of Thursday, 56 players were on the league’s Health & Safety list.
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CDC director says she's committed to improving the agency's communications with public
From CNN's Virginia Langmaid
Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Younger children across the U.S. are now eligible to receive Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, after the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week granted the final clearance needed for shots to begin.
(Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
In what she said might be the first of many independent media briefings by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said that she is working to improve the quality of the agency’s communication with the public.
“We’re in an unprecedented time with the speed of Omicron cases rising, and we are working really hard to get information to the American public, and balancing that with the reality that we’re all living with,” Walenksy said Friday.
Friday’s briefing was the first solo CDC media briefing since July 2021.
“For the last year, I’ve taken your questions at about 80 – over 80 – briefings since I took office, and oftentimes multiple times a week. But I hear that you are interested in hearing from the CDC independently, and we are eager to answer your questions, and I will continue to engage with you. So I anticipate that this will be the first of many briefings, and I very much look forward to them,” she said.
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Austria's chancellor tests positive for Covid-19
From CNN’s Arnaud Siad and 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.
(Lisa Leutner/AP)
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer has tested positive for Covid-19, he confirmed in a tweet on Friday.
He said the infection had come through a member of his security team.
The chancellor said he was quarantining and conducting official business via video and telephone conferences.
On Thursday, Austria announced a host of tougher Covid-19 restrictions on its citizens and businesses in order to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
The new rules will be enforced starting Saturday and include:
A compulsory wearing of European standard FFP2 (filtering face piece) masks outdoors if a distance of more than two meters (6 feet) 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.
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 more than 20,000 new daily cases forecast for the week after next.
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"Mild" Covid-19 may not feel mild. The severity of symptoms can vary dramatically.
From CNN's Jen Christensen
Many people are hearing from their doctors that they have a “mild” Covid-19 infection amid a surge of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus — but your illness may not feel as minor as “mild” sounds.
It was true for Michelle Cordes, a dietician at a Chicago-area hospital. She’s vaccinated and boosted, and she says she has done everything she can to avoid catching the virus, like wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. So when she didn’t feel great on Dec. 30, she thought it was a cold or maybe allergies to the cat her daughter brought home from college.
Just to be on the safe side, she took a home test and was surprised to find that she was positive for Covid-19. Her husband, son and father-in-law also tested positive.
“Mild” is a word that seems to fit Cordes’ symptoms, compared with the ones she sees in her patients at the hospital, she said. But her illness didn’t feel like a mild cold, either.
What Covid-19 actually feels like can vary dramatically. Studies have shown that disease from Omicron is generally milder than from the Delta coronavirus variant, and some people have no symptoms or only brief, minor sniffles. But it can still cause serious disease, especially among the unvaccinated. There are 126,410 people currently hospitalized with Covid-19, about 89% of the way to last year’s peak, according to US Department of Health and Human Services.
But even disease considered “mild” can still be uncomfortable and prolonged.
The National Institutes of Health’s definition of “mild” Covid-19 includes symptoms that people are all too familiar with these days, like fever, cough, sore throat and fatigue. They’re symptoms that Dr. Shira Doron has realized are nothing to, well, sneeze at.
Use of the word “mild” “isn’t meant to minimize your experience, said Doron, a hospital epidemiologist and infectious disease physician at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
Even people with mild illness can develop what’s called long Covid, with symptoms that stick around for six months or more. She thinks the “mild” term that experts prefer may need to be reframed.
Cordes ended up sitting in her pajamas for three days, something she says she has never done before.
“We’ve felt crappy and tired,” Cordes said. “On Monday, we took our tree down, and by one o’clock, we were all exhausted.”
She feels better this week and is up to taking on a paper-shredding project, but she’s not back at work yet.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly spelled Dr. Shira Doron’s name.
FDA shortens interval for Moderna's Covid-19 booster dose to 5 months
From CNN's Naomi Thomas
Michael Stremfel, owner of the pharmacy, prepares a booster shot of Moderna vaccine for Covid19 at Flintridge Pharmacy on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 in La Cañada Flintridge, CA.
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday amended the emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, shortening the period of time between initial vaccination and the booster shot to at least five months for those over the age of 18.
The FDA has already shortened the time needed before receiving a booster shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from six to five months. The Pfizer booster is authorized for everyone age 12 and older.
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Tennis star Renata Voráčová held in same place as Novak Djokovic in Australia Covid-19 vaccine row
From CNN’s Amy Cassidy
Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic in action against Johanna Larsson of Sweden in their Round One match during Day One of the Fuzion 100 Southsea Trophy at Canoe Lake Leisure on June 26, 2018 in Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
(Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
Czech women’s tennis player Renata Voráčová is in the same immigration detention center as Novak Djokovic after having her visa canceled, a Czech Foreign Ministry spokesperson told CNN Friday.
“According to our information, she has proven non-infectious status in a way that entitles her to participate in the tournament. She has even played one match. For this reason, we have lodged a protest note with the Australian authorities through the Embassy in Canberra, asking them to explain the situation.
“However, Renata Voráčová decided to give up further participation in the tournament and leave Australia due to the limited possibility of training. Our embassy in Australia is assisting her in completing the formalities for leaving the country and will continue to be in contact with her in case of any complications,” the statement concluded.
The Australian Border Force has confirmed three visas connected to the Australian Open have been canceled.
Novak Djokovic and Renata Voráčová remain in detention whilst one unnamed individual has already “voluntarily” left the country.
Japan to put 3 prefectures under quasi-state of emergency over Covid-19 cases rise
From Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a meeting for COVID-19 at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on January 7, 2022, amid continuing worries over omicron variant. Japanese government decides to issue the pre-emergency measures for Okinawa, Yamaguchi, and Hiroshima Prefectures. In 3 Prefectures, the number of newly infected COVID-19 is increasing rapidly.
(The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP)
Japan will place Okinawa, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures under a quasi-state of emergency from Sunday until Jan. 31 in response to a recent surge of coronavirus infections, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said.
A quasi-state of emergency allows local governors to impose stricter anti-virus measures, including curfews, alcohol bans and occupancy limits for restaurants.
This is the first time such measures were implemented since Kishida took office in October.
The rapid spread of infections could lead to a rise in serious cases, which would strain the medical system, Kishida told reporters on Thursday. “We have concluded that measures should be taken to contain the spread of infection,” said Kishida.
Okinawa, located 1,400 km (or about 900 miles) from Tokyo, is home to the majority of US military installations in Japan. It is among the worst-hit prefectures, reporting a record 981 daily local infections Thursday, according to local government data. On Thursday, an additional 162 daily cases were reported across US military bases, according to Okinawa government data.
Kishida told reporters Friday that he had instructed Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to urge the US again to implement stricter measures against the virus at US military installations during a virtual bilateral ministerial meeting on Friday.
In response to the increased Covid-19 spread at US installations and across Japan, the US Forces Japan (USFJ) said it would toughen measures against the virus on Wednesday, with individual bases implementing further measures depending on their Covid-19 measures.
Marine Forces Japan re-instituted mask mandates for everyone on-base regardless of vaccination status on December 23, according to a post on the Marine Corps Community Service website. However, the mandate does not apply to those eating or actively exercising, including indoor cardio, organized athletics, and sports. USFJ said it requires three negative Covid-19 tests for those traveling to Japan and a 14 day “restriction of movement” upon arrival.
USFJ said it will continue to monitor and adjust COVID-19 mitigation measures in cooperation with the Japanese government.
The number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases topped 4,000 in the country Thursday — the first time since Sept. 18, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. However, the figures are still lower than many other nations, including the US, UK and France.
The president of the Japan Medical Association, Toshio Nakagawa, said that Japan has already “entered the sixth wave” of the pandemic at a press conference also on Thursday. He added that the rate at which new cases is rising is extremely fast.
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Novak Djokovic thanks fans for "continuous support" amid Covid-19 visa row
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok
(djokernole/instagram)
Novak Djokovic thanked people around the world Friday for their “continuous support” in the midst of the furor over the cancellation of the tennis star’s visa.
Djokovic posted a message in both Serbian and English on his Instagram story.
It is the first public comments from Djokovic since he landed in Melbourne.
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Hospital staff absences up nearly 60% in a week in England due to Covid-19, data shows
From CNN's Amy Cassidy in Glasgow
Medical staff wearing FFP3 face masks walk along a corridor at King's College Hospital, in south east London. Picture date: Tuesday December 21, 2021.
(Victoria Jones/PA/Getty Images)
Hospital staff absences in England increased by almost 60% in the week up to Jan. 2, due to Covid-19 “sickness or self-isolation,” data from the National Health Service shows.
The number shot up by 59% from 24,632 on Dec. 26 to 39,142 on Jan. 2, according to the latest figures published Friday.
Covid-19-related absences account for almost half of the total 82,384 hospital staff absences on Jan. 2, the data also shows.
It comes as 200 troops have been deployed to support London hospitals amid the shortages, the Ministry of Defense announced Friday, as staff absences rose by 4% in the week up to Jan. 2.
However, the sharpest rise in staff absences occurred in the northern regions of England, now the epicenter of the country’s Omicron outbreak. Hospitals in the North West saw Covid-related staff absences rise by 85% compared to the previous week, while in the North East they almost doubled in numbers.
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CDC did not "pivot" isolation recommendations, but provided guidance for how to use tests, head says
From CNN's Naomi Thomas
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, talks to CBS Mornings on Friday 7 January 2022
(CBS)
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on CBS Mornings Friday that the CDC didn’t pivot its recommendations around Covid-19 isolation, but instead provided guidance for those who chose to take an antigen test.
She said that it is known that for the one to two days prior to infection and two to three days after symptoms is the time when a person is maximally infectious. By day five, after symptoms, “most of that infectiousness, that contagiousness is really behind you,” she said.
“That’s really where we say: Do you have symptoms? If your symptoms are better, you’re safe to go out as long as you’re wearing a mask all the time,” she said. “What we heard over the last week is many people were interested in using an antigen test, they had access to the antigen test.”
“So, we did not pivot our recommendations, what we did is we provided guidance for how you’d use and interpret that antigen test, if you so chose to take the extra step to get one,” she said. “And that is, if it’s positive, stay home. And if it’s negative, please continue to wear your mask, because that does not mean you’re no longer infectious.”
Asked if tests would be required before leaving isolation if tests were widely available and if access was no object, Walensky said that “we require tests for leaving quarantine — quarantine being this period of time after you’ve been exposed. What I do want to say is that we have to provide guidance that is, you know, grounded in science, that is grounded in the epidemiology of our current moment in time and implementable at the state and local jurisdictional level.”
“If they can’t get a test, they should wear a mask,” Walensky said, when asked what people who couldn’t get a test after the five days of isolation should do. “And that’s actually really what our guidance says, isolate for those first five days, after those first five days, make sure you’re feeling better, if you’re feeling better then you really can go out, but you need to go out and you need to be wearing your mask all the time.”
Walensky also addressed criticism around communicating the guidelines, saying “we’re working 24/7, 12,000 people to keep America safe, to update our guidance in the context of really fast moving science and really fast moving epidemiology. We have room, we can improve in our communications of how we convey that science to the American people. We will continue to do so. We’ve gotten some criticism, but we’ve also gotten quite a bit of endorsement of these new guidance.”
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Australian Border Force: One visa canceled, another individual departs in connection with Australian Open
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok
The Australian Border Force (ABF) told CNN Friday that its investigation into the visa status of two individuals connected to the Australian Open has concluded, amid the furor over the cancelation of tennis superstar Novak Djokovic’s visa.
Separate to the ongoing saga of Djokovic’s revoked visa, the ABF said one individual has voluntarily departed Australia following inquiries. The ABF confirmed that the visa of another unnamed individual has been canceled.
“All travelers who enter Australia must do so in accordance with our strict laws and entry requirements, regardless of their status or their reasons for entering the country,” the ABF added.
Australian media outlets reported on Friday that the second canceled visa is that of Czech women’s tennis player Renata Voráčová.
Australian national broadcaster ABC reports that Voráčová was told by ABF officials that she must soon leave the country, although it’s unclear at this stage whether or not she intends to appeal the decision.
According to The Age newspaper, the former Wimbledon doubles semi-finalist entered Australia with a medical exemption on the basis she had been infected with Covid-19 in the last six months.
CNN has not been able to independently verify those reports.
The 38-year-old has already played in a warm-up tournament in Melbourne, having lost in the first round of the women’s doubles competition at the Melbourne Summer Set tournament.
Neither Tennis Australia nor Voráčová’s representatives were immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.
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Airlines cancel more than 2,200 US flights on Friday
From CNN's Gregory Wallace
People wait in line to check in at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport on January 06, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Airlines across the country have cancelled more than 1,000 flights for the 11th straight day, marking the airline industry's worst stretch since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Airlines have also reported struggling with staff shortages amidst the surge of the COVID-19 Omicron Variant.
(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Airlines canceled more than 2,200 US flights on Friday amid the continued impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant, including many on the East coast where another winter storm has compounded difficulties.
The cancelations, as reported by the aviation tracking website FlightAware, included more than 500 by Southwest Airlines, with a heavy presence in Baltimore, and more than 150 by Northeast-focused JetBlue Airways.
The latest wave pushed the total cancelations by all airlines since Christmas Eve to over 27,000 US flights. Friday was the fifth day in that period to top 2,000 cancelations.
The chaos stretched from Boston, where FlightAware said 31% of flights were canceled, to New York – 35% at LaGuardia, 20% at JFK, and 20% at Newark – and south to the DC area, where FlightAware reported 20% at Reagan National and 17% at BWI Marshall were canceled.
LaGuardia told passengers in a social media post “to only go to the airport if your airline has confirmed your flight.” Reagan National reported that its “snow team worked through the night to clear the main runway, which is open for flights.”
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The US needs variant-specific coronavirus vaccines, former Biden health adviser says
From CNN Health’s Naomi Thomas
Rick Bright, a former health adviser to President Joe Biden, talks to CNN
(CNN)
Rick Bright, a former health adviser to President Joe Biden, said on CNN’s New Day Friday that using all the tools available in the United States will help the country control the coronavirus in the same way as flu, but that updated versions of vaccines to match variants are needed.
Bright, the former director of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, was a co-author of one of three editorials published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that discussed a strategy to help the US face a “new normal” when it comes to Covid-19.
He said the world has learned to live with influenza as a result of the tools we have to control it and “that’s what we anticipate is going to happen with SARS-CoV-2.”
“So our new normal will look like a future where we have SARS-CoV-2 but it’s not a panic, it’s not a crisis, it’s not devastating our public health infrastructure and our economy the way we see it today,” he added.
Bright said that the US has “amazingly sharp tools” and if they are used appropriately, as is laid out in the JAMA articles, then the coronavirus can be controlled in the same way as influenza.
Asked what the Biden administration needs to do on vaccines, Bright said “we’re continuing to use a vaccine that is over two years old, and the virus has continually changed.”
He continued: “That’s what we do with influenza and that’s what we should be doing with SARS-CoV-2.”
Bright also said that the reason this hasn’t happened is largely because people are learning as they go.
“I don’t think many people anticipated the virus would change as rapidly and as much as it has,” he said. “So it’s a new virus, and we’re learning about it, but it has shown us that capability now, when it changed from the original strain to Alpha to Beta to Delta and now Omicron, so now we need to, with humility, respect this virus, understand its capability and use what we know about vaccines and stop the virus.”
When asked if the Biden administration response has been insufficient, Bright said its sole focus has been on making sure that people get vaccinated, which he said was a really important goal.
“I do think that they have been overwhelmed and they’ve been caught off guard by the virus as it changes,” he said. “I think there’s a lot for the administration to try to tackle in handling a pandemic, and they need to acknowledge that there are other things that need to happen in parallel. They need to broaden their approach, use all the tools that we have together, and together we can stop this virus.”
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At least 10 Covid-19 positive passengers escape quarantine rules at Indian airport
From Swati Gupta in New Delhi
At least 10 passengers escaped from an airport in the northern Indian state of Amritsar after testing positive for coronavirus Thusrday, according to senior district official Ruhee Dugg.
The passengers arrived in India aboard a chartered flight from Italy, with 125 travelers from the flight testing positive on arrival.
The flight was scheduled to land at 11:20 am from Rome. On arrival, according to Indian procedure, 160 of the passengers on the plane were tested, while 19 were exempted since they were under five years old, said Amritsar Airport Director V.K. Seth.
The passengers were in transit to a local hospital when a few of them separated from the main group and were able to evade authorities.
“They were supposed to go to the hospital but they went home … The police are now working on tracking these people down and will take the required action,” said Dugg.
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Top Delhi hospital suspends non-essential services as hundreds of doctors are infected
From Esha Mitra in New Delhi
A health worker wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suit interacts with patients inside a ward at the Commonwealth games (CWG) village sports complex, temporarily converted into Covid-19 coronavirus care centre, in New Delhi on January 5, 2022.
(Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images)
A top hospital in the national capital territory of Delhi, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), has suspended all routine inpatient admissions, routine procedures and non-essential surgeries as a result of a “continuing increase in Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalization,” a circular issued by the hospital Friday said.
During the second wave when hospitals were overrun with Covid-19 patients, several hospitals in Delhi were forced to stop treating non-Covid patients.
More than 300 doctors have tested positive for Covid-19 at AIIMS Delhi, Dr Jaswant Jangra, secretary of the hospitals Resident Doctors’ Association told CNN Friday, adding that he too was infected.
“Definitely we are very short staffed…we get ourselves tested when we experience symptoms or if we are exposed to anyone,” Jangra said, adding that they have seen a rise in admissions of Covid-19 patients.
According to Jangra, at least 115 patients were admitted at AIIMS Delhi, though many of these were also employees at the hospital.
Health care under pressure: Delhi reported 15,097 cases Thursday evening, with a positivity rate of 15.34%. At least 1,551 Covid-19 patients, and patients suspected to have Covid were admitted in hospitals and Covid-19 care centers, according to a health bulletin.
In Mumbai, where more than 20,000 cases were reported Thursday evening, more than 300 doctors have been infected across four hospitals in the city.
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Over 40% of German Covid-19 cases are now Omicron variant
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt
Hendrik W'st (CDU, r), Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia and Chairman of the Conference of Minister Presidents (MPK), takes part in the video conference of the heads of government of the federal states in the representation of North Rhine-Westphalia in Berlin on 7 January 2022. Franziska Giffey (SPD), governing mayor of Berlin, is connected on the large screen. Following the MPK, the heads of state will discuss new Corona measures with the German government to contain the spread of the Omikron wave.
(Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture-alliance/dpa/AP)
A total of 44.3% of Covid-19 infections in Germany are now attributed to the Omicron variant – compared to just 15.8% a week ago, according to a weekly report from the country’s national disease and control centre, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country’s disease control agency.
In the past 24 hours, Germany has reported 56,335 new infections – 35% more than a week ago – and 264 people with Covid-19 died, according to the RKI.
The country’s seven-day incidence rate remains high at 303 per 100,000 population.
Lawmakers to gather: As the country braces for the impact of Omicron, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the country’s 16 regional state premiers are meeting Friday to discuss further measures to tackle the highly infectious variant.
Proposals include shorter quarantine periods for employees in critical infrastructure jobs such as medical, emergency, power supply workers and police. Germany is also mulling further contact restrictions and making a third booster shot mandatory to maintain a ‘fully-vaccinated’ status.
The country is also discussing making the so-called “2G+” rule mandatory for restaurants and cafes, meaning people must provide proof of vaccination or recovery as well as a negative Covid-19 test upon entering these facilities.
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British military personnel deployed to support London hospitals
From Amy Cassidy in Glasgow
A paramedic gets out of an ambulance outside the Royal London Hospital in the Whitechapel area of east London, Thursday, January 6, 2022. A string of National Health Service local organizations have declared "critical incidents" in recent days amid staff shortages.
(Matt Dunham/AP)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has deployed 200 personnel to support London’s hospitals as they grapple with staff shortages from coronavirus, it announced Friday.
More than 4,000 people are currently in hospital with Covid-19 in London compared to 1,134 one month ago, according to the government’s latest data.
At the same time, “several thousand” staff are absent with Covid-19 as infections soar, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told the BBC on Friday.
To ease the pressure, 40 defense medics will assist staff with patient care, while 160 general duty personnel will maintain stocks, check in patients and conduct basic checks, according to the MOD’s statement.
The troops will also assist with transport and patients could see a soldier arrive with an ambulance, he added.
It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes the country can “ride out” the Omicron wave, he told reporters on Tuesday.
But the NHS (National Health Service) cannot just “integrate” with the military, who have supported the UK’s Covid-19 response since March 2020, Taylor said.
“The problem is not that we’re not going to ride it out, it’s the consequences that are involved in the way we have to deal with it […]. People are having operations cancelled until we get through this.
“And it is going to mean that the NHS can’t provide the level of service – whether it’s how long it takes an ambulance to get you, how long you have to wait in emergency departments or whatever – that we’re wanting to provide.
“We will get through this but there will be a price to be paid.”
The bigger picture: On Thursday, the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the number of England’s hospital trusts that have declared “critical incidents” over staff shortages as a result of the Omicron spread had increased to 24.
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.
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Kyrgios urges Australian officials to "do better" in Djokovic's Australian Open debacle
From CNN's Jill Martin
Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts during a match against Kevin Anderson of South Africa at the Truist Atlanta Open at Atlantic Station on July 27, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Casey Sykes/Getty Images)
Tennis stars are reacting to Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open saga, with the nine-time tournament champion possibly unable to defend his 2021 title after his visa to enter the country was revoked.
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios weighed in on Twitter, saying “at the end of the day, he is human.”
Meanwhile, American tennis player John Isner offered his support to the men’s tennis world no.1.
Australia’s home affairs minister said on Friday that Djokovic was “not being held captive.”
“He is free to leave at anytime that he chooses to do so and Border Force will actually facilitate that,” Karen Andrews told public broadcaster ABC. “It is the individual traveler’s responsibility to make sure that they have in place all the necessary documentation that is needed to enter Australia.”
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France softens school testing rules days after classes resume
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman in Paris
France’s education ministry announced Thursday evening a loosening of testing rules for students when a classmate tests positive for Covid-19, just three days after schools reopened.
Testing rules were introduced Monday as students returned to classes after Christmas.
Education ministry rules for school students require that if one tests positive for Covid-19, their entire class is required to take three tests in four days to continue classes in person. Rules originally mandated that students were required to restart the four-day testing regime with each new positive case in the class.
But as of Thursday, if additional positive cases occur in the same class within seven days after the first student tests positive, the whole class will not be required to restart the four-day testing regime.
The amended rules apply to all students ages 12 and under, as well as students over 12 who are fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated students over 12 must observe a seven-day quarantine if a classmate tests positive.
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Several Hong Kong officials sent to mandatory quarantine over scandal-hit banquet
From CNN's Teele Rebane and Wayne Chang in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam holds a press conference as her government announces strict new anti-coronavirus controls in Hong Kong on January 5, 2022.
(Daniel Suen/AFP/Getty Images)
Several top Hong Kong government officials and 19 lawmakers are being sent to compulsory government quarantine after attending the same party as a Covid-positive individual.
Another guest has since returned a preliminary positive Covid-19 test result.
More than 150 people attended the official banquet on Monday and will now have to quarantine in a government center, Hong Kong’s health department said in a press conference on Friday.
On Thursday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam expressed her disappointment in the officials who attended the gathering after she informed the public that the home affairs secretary, Casper Tsui, was one of the first of the guests to be sent to quarantine.
Earlier on Friday, the city’s director of immigration, Au Ka-wang, publicly apologized for the “additional burden to the epidemic prevention work” as he also confirmed he would be self-isolating at the infamous quarantine center, Penny’s Bay.
Strictly zero-Covid: Hong Kong, along with mainland China, is one of the few places in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid policy, resulting in some of the harshest quarantine measures in the world.
All close contacts of a confirmed Covid-19 case must isolate at a government quarantine facility for up to 21 days. Non-residents are banned from entering Hong Kong, while almost all overseas arrivals must undergo 21 days of quarantine – even if they are fully vaccinated. Find out more:
Players association says Djokovic has "verified his well-being to us"
From CNN's Jill Martin
Novak Djokovic supporters rally outside Park Hotel where he thought to be detained on January 06, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Djokovic arrived in Melbourne to play in the upcoming Australian Open and was denied entry to Australia due to questions over the validity of his visa.
(Diego Fedele/Getty Images)
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) says Novak Djokovic wants to reveal “the facts of his detainment” in Australia “in his own time.”
The men’s tennis world no.1 co-founded the organization with fellow Canadian star Vasek Pospisil as a new way to advocate for players.
“The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has been diligently monitoring the detainment of professional tennis player Novak Djokovic by the Australian Government,” the group said in a statement.
The organization said it had “the utmost respect for all personal views on vaccinations” and that “vaccinated athletes and unvaccinated athletes (with an approved medical exemption) should both be afforded the freedom to compete.”
The PTPA ended the statement saying it will “continue to support and advocate for our members.”
How we got here: The Serb arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday in preparation to defend his Australian Open title but was held at the border, and his visa was canceled a day later for not meeting the country’s required entry rules.
Players had been told that they needed to be inoculated against Covid-19 to participate in the tournament or have a medical exemption granted by an independent panel of experts.
There had been uncertainty over the 34-year-old player’s participation as Djokovic has not publicly revealed his vaccination status but voiced opposition to vaccines and vaccine mandates previously. Ultimately he was granted an exemption, which ignited a backlash among Australians, particularly as Melbourne residents spent more than 260 days confined to their homes, forbidden to leave except to buy groceries or other essential items, largely in two long stretches from July to October, 2020 and August to October, 2021.
However, there was a twist in the tale as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a press conference Thursday that the Serb “didn’t have a valid medical exemption” to the vaccination requirement for arrival into the country.
He is currently staying at the Park Hotel, where he was allegedly transferred after being detained at the airport, according to CNN affiliates Seven Network and Nine News. The hotel was formerly used as a Covid-19 quarantine hotel for returning travelers but is now operating as a detention facility housing asylum seekers and refugees.
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The Pentagon is tightening its Covid-19 restrictions amid Omicron surge
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
(Andrew Harnik/AP)
The Pentagon is tightening its Covid-19 restrictions, limiting building occupancy and encouraging telework, amid a “dramatic increase” in cases.
In announcing the switch to the tighter restrictions, known as Health Protection Condition (HPCON) Charlie, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks wrote in a memo that the Pentagon is “experiencing a rapidly involving situation” and cases are expected to rise through at least the end of January.
What’s changing? Starting Monday, January 10 at 5:00am, the Pentagon will have an occupancy limit of less than 25%. Social distancing will remain at 6 feet, and personnel will be required to wear a mask indoors unless alone in an office, eating and drinking, or lowering a mask for security identification.
Because of a high demand for testing, asymptomatic testing at the Pentagon will primarily be for those supporting mission critical tasks.
For the past few months, the Pentagon has been at HPCON Bravo Plus, which allowed 40% of personnel to work in the building, while the rest teleworked. The new restrictions will limit in-person work even further.
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A fourth vaccine dose might be needed this fall, Moderna CEO says
From CNN’s Katherine Dillinger, Elliott Gotkine, Maggie Fox, Amanda Sealy and Nick Thompson
Dosage of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine are being prepared to give to patients at L.A. Care Health Plan Community Resource Center on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in El Monte, California.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
More people may need a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine this fall, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said Thursday, as booster doses are likely to become less effective over time.
A preliminary Israeli study found that a fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine raises coronavirus antibodies fivefold in a week’s time. People who are 60 and older, health care workers and those with weakened immune systems are eligible for fourth doses in that country.
The Canadian province of Ontario will offer fourth doses to people in settings such as long-term care homes and retirement homes.
Pfizer Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton warned last month that “we’re going to have to wait for a couple of months yet, until we can see how those data develop and mature, to understand when will that additional booster dose – if needed – have to be given.”
In a separate interview with Sky News on Tuesday, Pollard also cited the glaring unevenness of vaccine rollouts across the world.
“And remember that, today, less than 10% of people in low-income countries have even had their first dose, so the whole idea of regular fourth doses globally is just not sensible,” he said.
Meanwhile in the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on December 24 that it was too early to be discussing a potential fourth dose for most people.
“One of the things that we’re going to be following very carefully is what the durability of the protection is following the third dose of an mRNA vaccine,” Fauci told Michael Wallace and Steve Scott of WCBS Newsradio 880. Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are mRNA vaccines.
“If the protection is much more durable than the two-dose, non-boosted group, then we may go a significant period of time without requiring a fourth dose,” Fauci said. “So, I do think it’s premature – at least on the part of the United States – to be talking about a fourth dose.”
Moderna is also developing Covid-19 boosters that specifically target coronavirus variants like Delta and Omicron.
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China's vice premier tells hospitals not to turn away patients amid Xi'an lockdown
From CNN's Beijing Bureau
Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends the opening ceremony of the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympic Games at the Xi'an Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province October. 22, 2021.
(Xinhua/Getty Images)
China’s vice premier Sun Chunlan told hospitals not to turn patients away after they were reportedly denied immediate medical care for not presenting valid Covid-19 tests, resulting in widespread despair and public outcry.
Sun’s comments came after harrowing tales of loss and despair emerged from locked down Xi’an city in northwest Shaanxi province — highlighting the immense human cost of China’s zero-Covid policy.
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.
She was finally admitted two hours later — but had a miscarriage, said the post, which was shared widely on Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo before it was deleted.
Australia's NSW to impose precautionary measures ahead of "anticipated peak" in Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Angus Watson in Sydney and Sophie Jeong
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (centre) speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney, Friday, January 7, 2022. NSW has halted singing in clubs and pubs for three weeks and will impose a triple-vaccination mandate for some people as it tries to slow the Omicron wave.
(Paul Braven/AAP Image/Reuters)
Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) will impose a range of precautionary measures ahead of an “anticipated peak” in Covid-19 cases, according to a statement from the state government Friday.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the state will extend the suspension of non-urgent surgeries through to February to “alleviate pressure on the hospital system and staff.”
Singing and dancing will be prohibited in hospitality venues — including pubs, clubs, nightclubs, bars and restaurants — entertainment facilities, and major recreation facilities from Saturday until January 27, according to the statement. The prohibition will not apply to weddings, students, instructors and performers, the statement said.
Major events scheduled for the coming weeks will be risk-assessed by authorities, but event organizers should assume their event will proceed unchanged unless they are contacted by NSW Health, the statement added.
NSW is seeing a surge in cases driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant. On Friday, it reported 38,625 new Covid-19 cases of Covid-19, according to the state’s health department.
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India reports more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases as doctors warn of strain on health care
From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi
A medical worker takes a swab sample from a man for a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for the Covid-19 coronavirus at a health centre in New Delhi on January 7, 2022.
(Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)
India on Friday reported 117,100 new Covid-19 cases — the highest daily rise in nearly seven months, as it battles a surge in cases driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant that is threatening to put a strain on medical resources.
India’s capital, Delhi, reported 15,097 new cases, the highest since May 8, according to state health bulletins. Financial capital Mumbai reported 20,181 new cases — the second consecutive day of record cases.
At least 313 resident doctors have tested positive for Covid-19 across four hospitals in Mumbai, according to Dr. Akshay Yadav of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors.
For months, resident doctors have protested the delay in allocating hospitals to an incoming batch of doctors, which the Indian Medical Association had said led to a shortage of 45,000 doctors on the frontline.
As of Thursday evening, Mumbai had nearly 6,000 Covid-19 patients in hospital with 16.8% of its hospital beds occupied — more than double from a week ago on December 31, according to local health bulletins.
Mumbai’s Dharavi slum reported 107 new cases on Thursday — the highest rise since the start of the pandemic, according to local administrative officials.
India has reported a total of 35,226,386 Covid-19 cases, including 483,178 related deaths, according to the Indian Ministry of Health. At least 3,007 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported across the country.
This post has been updated to correct the name of the doctor.
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Novak Djokovic is "not being held captive," says Australia home affairs minister
From CNN’s Sophie Jeong
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews speaks after signing a new law enforcement partnership with US Attorney General Merrick Garland at the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC on December 15, 2021. - The US and Australia signed a bilateral agreement with the goal of strengthening public safety for both countries.
(Leigh Vogel/AFP/Getty Images)
Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is “not being held captive” in Australia and can leave when he chooses, the nation’s home affairs minister said Friday, after the Serb’s visa to enter the country was canceled for not meeting the required entry rules.
Djokovic arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday after tournament organizers, in conjunction with the Victoria Department of Health, said he had been granted a medical exemption — a decision that sparked backlash among many Australians.
The men’s tennis world no.1 hasn’t publicly revealed his Covid-19 vaccination status — but Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Djokovic “didn’t have a valid medical exemption” to the vaccination requirement for all arrivals.
Djokovic’s visa was canceled on Thursday, and he is currently staying at the Park Hotel, where he was allegedly transferred after being detained at the airport, according to CNN affiliates Seven Network and Nine News. The hotel was formerly used as a Covid-19 quarantine hotel for returned travelers, but is now operating as a detention facility housing asylum seekers and refugees.
On Friday, his wife, Jelena Djokovic, spoke out for the first time on social media since the saga began.
