LAST UPDATE | 29 Dec 2021
A COVID VARIANT-DRIVEN “tsunami” threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO said Wednesday as AFP data showed cases have surged across the world in the past week to levels never seen before.
Highly transmissible Omicron propelled the United States, France and Denmark to fresh records today, with AFP’s tally of 6.55 million infections reported globally for seven days through Tuesday showing the unprecedented spread.
They were the highest figures since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020, underscoring the blistering pace of Omicron transmission, with tens of millions of people facing a second consecutive year of restrictions dampening New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
“This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of collapse,” he added.
The surge, currently worst in Europe, is forcing governments to walk a tightrope between imposing restrictions designed to stop hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and the need to keep economies and societies open two years after the virus first emerged in late 2019.
The United States, where Omicron is already overwhelming hospitals, recorded its highest-ever seven-day average of new cases at 265,427, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
Harvard epidemiologist and immunologist Michael Mina tweeted that the count was likely the “tip of the iceberg” with the true number of cases likely far higher, because of a shortage of tests.
But the country also appears to be experiencing a decoupling between infections and severe outcomes compared to previous waves, officials noted, as evidence accumulates of milder outcomes under the new variant.
France today registered a new daily record of more than 200,000 cases – more than double the number recorded on Christmas Day – and extended into January the closure of nightclubs.
Denmark, which currently has the world’s highest rate of infection per person, recorded a fresh record of 23,228 new infections, which authorities attributed in part to the large numbers of tests carried out after Christmas celebrations.
Portugal also saw a record with nearly 27,000 cases reported in 24 hours, while Lebanon had 3,150 new infections – its highest daily tally since vaccines rolled out earlier this year.
No music in Greek bars
Studies suggest Omicron, now the dominant strain in some countries, carries a reduced risk of being admitted to hospital, but the World Health Organisation still urged caution.
“The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” the UN health agency said overnight.
“Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days.”
The WHO said early data from Britain, South Africa, and Denmark suggested there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation for Omicron compared with Delta. But it added that further data was needed to understand Omicron’s severity.
More than 5.4 million people around the world have died from Covid-19, but over the last week the number of deaths averaged 6,450 a day, the AFP tally said, the lowest since October 2020.
In Europe, where more than 3.5 million cases have been recorded in the last seven days, Greece banned music in bars and restaurants until 16 January, including on New Year’s Eve.
French lawmakers were to start debating a new law that will only allow those vaccinated to enter restaurants, cinemas, museums and other public venues – no longer those showing proof of a negative Covid test.
Germany has put restrictions on sports competitions and shut nightclubs, limiting private gatherings to 10 vaccinated people – or two households where any unvaccinated people are present.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said around 90% of coronavirus patients in intensive care units had not had a booster jab, defending his decision not to clamp down on festivities.
The high take-up of boosters in England “is allowing us to go ahead with New Year in the cautious way that we are,” he said despite new closures in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
New Year’s Eve
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraged people planning on attending New Year’s Eve parties to take a Covid-19 test ahead of any celebrations, but many cannot access testing due to supply constraints.
Johnson encouraged punters to enjoy the night in a “cautious and sensible way” by ordering a test and booking a booster jab – but pharmacies have warned of “huge” problems with lateral flow deliveries and PCRs are not available to order online for most of the UK.
While visiting a vaccination clinic in Milton Keynes today, Johnson told reporters: “I think everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way.
“Take a test, ventilation, think about others – but, above all, get a booster.”
The number of people in hospital with Covid in England topped 10,000 today, according to updated government figures.
In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that she expects new public health restrictions to stem the spread of Omicron will remain in place until 17 January.
The First Minister also encouraged people to stay at home more than they normally would over the New Year period, due to high volume of Covid-19 cases in the country, 80% of which are the Omicron variant.
She also said that people should not gather with more than three households, and that people should limit the number of people they meet over the next several weeks.
“We are advising everyone to stay at home more than normal, to reduce contacts with people outside our own households and to limit the size of any indoor social gatherings that do take place so that they don’t include people from any more than three households,” said Sturgeon.
Sturgeon said that while as more people receive booster vaccines, there will be better protection against the virus, but said that a “sheer volume” of cases overwhelming the country must be avoided.
Sturgeon said that people should continue to self-test regularly using lateral flow tests (antigen tests) if they are planning on meeting up with other households.
“Sticking to this is really hard, but it does keep us safer and gives us the ability to slow down the spread of the virus as we complete the all-important booster programme,” said Sturgeon.
To hold back the tide, many nations on the continent have brought back curbs with heavy economic and social consequences.
Contact restrictions were in place in Germany for the second year in a row heading into the New Year, as Europe’s biggest economy shut nightclubs and forced sports competitions behind closed doors.
It also limited private gatherings to 10 vaccinated people – or two households where any unvaccinated people are present.
Finland yesterday said it would bar unvaccinated foreign travellers from entering. Only residents, essential workers or diplomats will be exempt.
The Nordic country, like Sweden, had begun requiring negative tests for incoming non-resident travellers from yesterday, a day after Denmark applied the same measure.
But the Belgian government’s plans to introduce further restrictions were thwarted as a court suspended an order closing entertainment venues.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had announced the original measure on 22 December as Belgium saw a sharp increase in the percentage of tests showing the Omicron variant.
Vaccine inequity
Speaking at a press conference, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticised world leaders for not acting further on stopping vaccine inequity in poorer countries.
He said that there was a limited supply of vaccines arriving in poor countries, with some vaccines that did arrive being close to their expiry date or missing key components.
He originally called for 40% vaccination in all countries around the world, but this was not met and said it was a “moral shame” and that it costs lives.
“It’s not only a moral shame. It costs lives and provided the virus with opportunities to circulate unchecked and mutate,” said Ghebreyesus.
“In the year ahead, I call for leaders of government and industry to walk the talk on vaccine equity both by ensuring consistent supply and helping to get vaccinations actually into people.”
He called on world leaders to work together to hit a target of 70% vaccination across the world by the middle of 2022, and said that it was time to “rise above” short-term vaccine nationalism.
“This is the time to rise above short-term nationalism and protect populations and economies against future variants by ending global vaccine inequity. I want governments, industry and civil society to work with us on a campaign that targets 70% vaccine coverage in every country by the start of July.”
Travel chaos
The Covid spikes around the world have caused severe disruptions to travel over the holidays, with thousands of flights cancelled worldwide.
They are also threatening sports events again.
England’s top football league is grappling with record cases, while China has imposed strict lockdowns on millions of people to control the spread of the Delta variant ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Mexico City’s mayor yesterday cancelled the capital’s massive New Year’s Eve celebrations as a preventative measure after a rise in Covid-19 cases.
The top American sports leagues have also been hit, as the United States battles a surge fuelled by Omicron, as well as large pockets of unvaccinated people and a lack of access to quick and easy testing.
The US Centers for Disease Control has halved the isolation period for asymptomatic cases to try and limit disruptions and mass labour shortages.
US President Joe Biden said the United States was generally well prepared, though some hospitals could be “overrun”.
Spain is also to shorten the mandatory isolation period for people who test positive for Covid-19 from 10 to seven days, the health ministry said today.
Earlier, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the country needed to strike “a balance” between public health, mental health and economic growth.
Spain yesterday confirmed a record 99,671 new infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the 14-day infection rate to 1,360 cases per 100,000 residents, nearly twice the level from a week earlier. The country has been hard hit by the pandemic, recording over 89,000 deaths and just over 6.0 million infections since it started.
Additional reporting by Tadgh McNally
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