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UK ministers continue to debate whether measures should be introduced before or after Christmas in order to curb the spread of Omicron.
British prime minister Boris Johnson is mulling urging the public to limit household mixing at Christmas, the Telegraph reports.
Johnson has been presented with three options by officials for further restrictions to curb the spread of Omicron, out of which the lowest level of action would see families asked to limit indoor contacts, without legal enforcement, the report said.
The prime minister is also weighing mandate curbs on household mixing, the return of social distancing and an 8pm curfew on pubs and restaurants, it added. Option three is a full lockdown.
Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak is one of 10 cabinet ministers who are resisting the introduction of new restrictions before Christmas to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, the Times reports.
The UK government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told ministers over the weekend that new restrictions should be introduced as soon as possible to stop the NHS being overwhelmed, the newspaper said.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, yesterday refused to rule out a “circuit breaker” that would ban household mixing and said the government might need to act before the data was clear. “If we wait until the data is perfect, it may be too late,” he said.
It’s Samantha Lock here taking over from my colleague Jem Bartholomew.
As I’m reporting to you from Sydney, here are some Covid numbers out of Australia.
There were 1,302 new coronavirus cases recorded in Victoria with no deaths.
NSW recorded 2,501 new local Covid-19 cases. The numbers are nearly double that of Victoria, a reversal of a weeks-long trend of more infections below the border.
Today after months of strict border restrictions the Northern Territory is opening up to the rest of the country.
Travellers from all around Australia will now be able to travel anywhere in the territory as long as they avoid remote communities where less than 80% of the eligible population is vaccinated.
Arrivals must also record three negative PCR tests, one before crossing the border and two in the days afterwards.
In other news, the federal government has committed to spending another $78m to help Australia’s aviation sector recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sunday Summary
Here’s a round-up of Sunday’s developments from around the world on Covid and Omicron.
- The Netherlands entered a strict lockdown that meant the closure of non-essential stores, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places until 14 January to push back the new wave.
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Germany followed France and tightened restrictions from Britain, mandating a 14-day quarantine for incoming travellers to avoid an Omicron wave.
- Pressure builds on UK prime minister Boris Johnson after the Guardian published a picture of him with wine and cheese in the No 10 garden, suggesting a social event, during a strict UK lockdown. No 10 insists the meeting was for work.
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Poland confirmed seven Omicron cases in total as an official warned the variant is spreading at “unprecedented rate”. A further 15,976 Covid cases were recorded.
- Peru, the country with the highest Covid deaths per capita and sixth-highest total death toll, detected its first four Omicron cases.
- The UK recorded above 80,000 new daily cases for only fourth time since pandemic began, and clocked another 12,000 Omicron cases – taking the tally to over 37,000. Health secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out new restrictions on the Sunday broadcast round. Cases are up 72% in one week.
- Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious diseases expert, said the Omicron variant has “extraordinary spreading capabilities” and is “raging through the world”.
- Ireland said Omicron is now the dominant strain of Covid after an estimated 52% of its cases – 5,124 new cases on Sunday – were from the highly mutated variant.
- The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency warned of political violence from the country’s anti-vaccine movement with its connections to the far-right.
- Iran detected its first case of Omicron.
- Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said on Sunday the country is in a fifth Covid wave and urged people to step up vaccinations.
- US Senator Elizabeth Warren tested positive for Covid after a routine test. She has mild symptoms.
- 30,000 people in Vienna, Austria commemorated the country’s 13,000 people who have died from the virus with a “sea of lights” march.
- Italy detected 24,259 new Covid infections, a 62% climb on the 15,010 new cases on Sunday two weeks ago.
- Sri Lanka will require Covid vaccine certificates for entry to public places from New Year’s Day.
- Russia recorded 27,967 new Covid infections, a 13% slide on the 32,031 new cases on Sunday two weeks ago.
- France reported 48,473 new Covid infections, a 15% climb on the 42,252 new cases detected on Sunday two weeks ago.
- Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa asked for greater law enforcement protection on Sunday after a flurry of threats following its decision to approve Covid vaccines for children aged five to 11. President Jair Bolsonaro, who has played down the virus’s risks, has publicly pressured the agency over the decision.
That’s all from me, Jem Bartholomew in London, and I’ll be back on Wednesday. Do get in touch via email or on Twitter with tips and stories for then. I’m particularly interested in hearing from clinically vulnerable people in the UK about their experiences during the Omicron wave, so far without government support.
Now, over to my colleague Samantha Lock in Australia.
Updated
On Sunday a chain of 13,000 candles stretched out along the baroque streets of Vienna, Austria. Then, 30,000 people went silent.
Tens of thousands of people in Vienna on Sunday took part in a “sea of lights” commemoration for the people who have died during the pandemic. They observed a moment of silence in a demonstration intended to show solidarity with healthcare workers after weeks of anti-lockdown protests.
“We are simply people from civil society who want to send a signal,” organiser Daniel Landau told newspaper Kurier.
Austria has recorded 13,000 deaths from Covid-related illness. Another 24 people were added to the country’s toll on Saturday.
Austria experienced rising Covid cases in late November, with daily infections often above 15,000. They have since declined, with 2,167 people on Saturday receiving confirmation they’d been infected.
“Thousands of people gathered in Vienna this evening to commemorate all those who were torn from their lives by the virus with a #Lichtermeer & thank our health workers,” said chancellor Karl Nehammer on Twitter.
Das sieht schön aus. Foto: (c) APA #yeswecare #lichtermeer pic.twitter.com/62EHsB3SVY
— Heide Rampetzreiter (@Heide_Anna) December 19, 2021
Updated
US Senator Elizabeth Warren said she’s tested positive for Covid and is experiencing mild symptoms.
Warren, the 72-year-old Democrat for Massachusetts, said she is vaccinated and boosted. The Senator, who ran to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020, said: “I urge everyone who has not already done so to get the vaccine and the booster as soon as possible – together, we can save lives.”
I regularly test for COVID & while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case. Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated & boosted.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 19, 2021
The New York Times has this sobering report on the scale of the global challenge to tackle the new mutated variant: Most of the World’s Vaccines Likely Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron.
Severe disease can still be prevented, which is good news. But the costs of infection mean not just strain on health systems around the world, the Times’s Stephanie Nolen reports, but could lead to further variant escapes.
For instance, global vaccine program Covax has delivered 67 million Oxford-AstraZeneca doses, much of it across sub-Saharan Africa, and 90% of people in India got the AstraZeneca shot. One study showed it had no ability to stop infection after six months.
All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.
The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of Omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic.
A global surge of infections in a world where billions of people remain unvaccinated not only threatens the health of vulnerable individuals but also increases the opportunity for the emergence of yet more variants. The disparity in the ability of countries to weather the pandemic will almost certainly deepen. And the news about limited vaccine efficacy against Omicron infection could depress demand for vaccination throughout the developing world, where many people are already hesitant or preoccupied with other health problems.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Peru detects first four Omicron cases
Peru detected its first four cases of the Omicron variant on Sunday, a health ministry official said.
Minister of health Hernando Cevallos told reporters that four cases of the variant had been detected.
“One is a traveller arriving from South Africa to our country, while three of them have been detected within Peru and we are taking the necessary measures to follow up and carry out contact tracing,” he said.
Peru reported 3,559 new infections on Saturday, alongside 78 new deaths.
The Omicron news raises concerns as the highly-mutated variant reaches a nation already ravaged by the pandemic. Peru has recorded 202,000 deaths from Covid-related causes, the world’s sixth-highest tally, and is the country with the worst per capita death toll.
Updated
Adding to our post on the impact of the Netherlands’ snap new lockdown (10.39am GMT), The Guardian has a report on the impact on Dutch shopkeepers, who say they have been “broken” by the measures amid the busy Christmas shopping period.
As of Sunday, all non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the country are closed until at least 14 January, and schools and universities shut until 9 January.
Retailers that weathered the first rounds of lockdown say they are crushed without a compensation scheme for the new restrictions.
“Nowhere in Europe is there such a strict regime as in the Netherlands,” said Jan Meerman, the director of INretail, the Dutch retailers association.
He added: “From a health perspective, I understand that something needs to be done, but then it is important that the cabinet also makes a grand financial gesture and generously reimburses entrepreneurs. As far as we are concerned, 100% compensation. Many colleagues are still heavily indebted from the first lockdowns, they can’t take this any more … They are broken by these harsh measures.”
Full report available here.
Updated
Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said on Sunday the country is in a fifth Covid wave and urged people to step up vaccinations.
In a televised address, Bennett said he expected a surge of sickness within weeks, despite the strict travel measures Israel took in recent weeks to keep out the Omicron variant. He told citizens to take precautions such as working from home.
Israel has detected 134 confirmed Omicron cases and another 307 suspected cases. 167 are symptomatic.
“The time we bought [with travel bans] is running out,” Bennett said. “The numbers are still not high but it’s a very contagious variant, doubling itself every two-three days, as we see around the world. It’s possible to say that the fifth wave has begun.”
Meanwhile, a health ministry advisory committee recommended Israel add the US to its red-list countries, where citizens cannot fly without special permission. Israel banned the entry of foreigners on 25 November and has imposed three to 14-day quarantine orders for Israelis returning from abroad.
Israel reported 696 infections on Saturday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The country experienced rising cases last September, recording upwards of 7,000 cases a day, before new infections dropped to the hundreds in October.
Updated
The health regulator in Brazil, Anvisa, asked for greater law enforcement protection on Sunday after a flurry of threats following its decision to approve Covid vaccines for children aged five to 11.
The right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, is putting pressure on Anvisa over the decision, and has repeatedly sowed doubts about the dangers of the virus and the value of getting vaccinated, saying he is not vaccinated himself.
After Anvisa’s decision to approve vaccination for children this week, on Thursday Bolsonaro said he’d asked for the names of the officials involved and threatened to make their identities public. It continues a months-long political storm between Anvisa and Bolsonaro over the agency’s ability to approve vaccine shots.
The regulator said threats had jumped in the past 24 hours, and it was giving details to law enforcement agencies. “Anvisa is firm in its mission to protect the health of citizens,” it said.
In October Brazil’s Senate accused Bolsonaro of crimes against humanity for his handling of the pandemic, during which more than 617,000 people died from Covid-related causes, the second-highest death toll in the world behind the US. Bolsonaro’s popularity has dropped this year.
Updated
France reported 48,473 new Covid infections on Sunday, a 15% climb on the 42,252 new cases detected on Sunday two weeks ago.
A further 75 people died from the virus, down from 162 on Friday. (Reported figures tend to be lower at weekends.) Over 121,000 people in France have died from Covid-related causes, the 12th highest global total.
France restricted travel to and from Britain on Thursday in an attempt to block entry of the Omicron variant, a move followed by Germany tightening its restrictions on travel from Britain on Sunday.
The prime minister, Jean Castex, asked mayors on Friday to cancel New Year’s Eve firework displays and festivities as cases rose. He urged people to get tested before Christmas celebrations. Paris town hall cancelled one of its public parties on Saturday.
Castex also announced France will change its health pass into a vaccination pass, meaning from January it can only be used by double-vaccinated people.
FRANCE 24 has been reporting on the impact of cancelled plans:
Jonathan Clark, chaplain at Saint Michel’s Church in Paris, said: “We’ve had to cancel our social events and they’re important to people, particularly the lonely, so it’s really hard.”
By now safety protocols have become a habit. “We wear masks the whole time. We distance, we separate groups of people, we halve the number of people at a service, and we have to ventilate so we keep doors open.”
“The services are running as normal, because for some people, it’s the only social contact they’re going to get to come to church and see some people,” Clark said. “And we can sing behind masks. Last year we couldn’t sing – that was much harder.”
Updated
Boris Johnson pictured with wine and cheese in garden during strict UK lockdown
Pressure continues to build on Boris Johnson after the Guardian revealed an image of him in the garden of Downing Street, the UK prime minister’s official residence, with cheese and wine on 15 May 2020, suggesting a social event when the country was in a hard lockdown.
No 10’s insistence the event constituted a “work meeting” has been called into question by the presence of wine and cheese and 19 people in groups.
EXCLUSIVE: Boris Johnson and staff pictured with wine in Downing Street garden in May 2020 https://t.co/HDyvi70Nqd
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 19, 2021
Bottles of wine are in evidence, there is a lack of social distancing and 19 people are gathered in groups across the Downing Street terrace and lawn.
At the time social mixing between households was limited to two people, who could only meet outdoors and at a distance of at least 2 metres. In workplaces, guidance said in-person meetings should only take place if “absolutely necessary”.
Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour party, described the picture as “a slap in the face of the British public”, adding: “The prime minister consistently shows us he has no regard for the rules he puts in place for the rest of us. Alleged drinking and partying late into the evening [at No 10] when the rest of us were only recently getting one daily walk.”
The prime minister has faced a string of allegations of partying and socialising in No 10 while Covid restrictions were in place. He was forced to order a civil service inquiry, though its head stepped down on Friday over allegations of his own Christmas party.
A Downing Street spokesperson said people drinking at work was not against regulations at the time. “Downing Street is the prime minister’s home as well as his workplace. The prime minister’s wife lives in No 10 and therefore also legitimately uses the garden,” they said.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Poland confirms 7 total Omicron cases as official warns variant is spreading at 'unprecedented rate'
Poland has detected a total of seven Omicron cases, the deputy health minister, Waldemar Kraska, said on Sunday, jumping from one case on Thursday.
The Omicron mutation is “highly contagious” and it “is spreading at an unprecedented rate”, Kraska said, according to Polskie Radio.
The infections include a seven-year-old girl from Gdańsk, who was tested on 10 December and confirmed with Omicron on Sunday, after sequencing, and a three-year-old girl from Warsaw.
Poland only sequenced its first Omicron case on Thursday, when a 30-year-old woman who had recently traveled from southern Africa was confirmed to have the highly mutated variant.
In response, ministers introduced new measures this week. Nightclubs are closed until further notice, and other entertainment and leisure centres are at a maximum capacity of 100 people until 31 January.
Poland recorded 15,976 new cases on Sunday, a 29% decrease on the 22,394 new cases recorded on Sunday two weeks ago. Poland experienced rising cases in late November and early December and saw a gradual decline in recent weeks. It’s unclear whether cases will climb again amid Omicron’s spread or the recent wave will provide a barrier of antibodies in recently recovered people.
A further 70 people died with the virus in the past 24 hours, down from 566 on Friday. (Reported figures tend to be lower at weekends.)
Updated
Russia recorded 27,967 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours, a 13% slide on the 32,031 new cases two weeks ago on Sunday.
After daily cases jumped in early November, Russia is on a downward trajectory with its epidemic. But daily deaths remain high. A further 1,024 people died from Covid-related causes on Sunday, with deaths largely above 1,000 a day since late October.
It’s unclear whether Omicron will send cases skywards again. After researchers at the University of Washington and Swiss pharmaceutical firm Humabs Biomed found the Russian Sputnik V vaccine provided “no neutralizing activity against Omicron” this week, Russia rejected the findings. Sputnik has not been approved by the World Health Organization.
Updated
Italy detected 24,259 new Covid infections on Sunday, a 62% climb on the 15,010 new cases on Sunday two weeks ago.
A further 97 people died from Covid-related causes in the past 24 hours, a 126% rise from 43 two weeks ago. (Reported figures tend to be lower at weekends.)
As of 16 December, arrivals from other European Union countries must take a negative Covid test before entering Italy, in a move ministers hoped would block the Omicron strain circulating.
But Omicron is spreading quickly in Italy already, the national health institute said on Saturday, with cases rising in the north and south of the country.
Updated
Germany’s health minister ruled out a Christmas lockdown but said mandatory vaccination was the only way to stop the pandemic.
“There will not be a lockdown before Christmas here. But we will get a fifth wave – we have crossed a critical number of Omicron infections,” Karl Lauterbach told broadcaster ARD. “This wave can no longer be completely stopped.”
Germany banned unvaccinated people from entering non-essential places at the start of December amid rising cases. About 70% of the population is double-vaccinated.
“I believe we can defeat this if we close the gaps in vaccination with mandatory vaccines. That is my clear conviction,” Lauterbach said.
Germany reported 55,603 new Covid infections on Saturday, jumping 142% from 22,945 cases on Sunday two weeks ago. A further 426 people died with the virus on Saturday, up from 81 two weeks ago. (Reported figures can be lower at weekends.)
Germany is also tightening restrictions on travel from Britain, which has detected a total 37,000 Omicron cases, which will require travelers from 11pm GMT on Sunday to quarantine for a mandatory 14 days, even the double-vaccinated.
Updated
Here are those latest UK case numbers in context throughout the pandemic. This has been a record-breaking week with Omicron pushing daily figures above the record three days in a row.
This is the barometer scientists and ministers will be looking at very closely over the next week: the speed at which hospitalisations jump, and whether it’s in line with new cases. If admissions tick up significantly it may be difficult for policymakers to ignore implementing further restrictions, which UK health secretary Sajid Javid did not rule out on Sky News today.
This is Jem Bartholomew in London for the next eight hours covering the international Covid blog. Do get in touch with stories or tips from around the world.
Updated
UK records above 80,000 new daily cases for only fourth time since pandemic began
The UK detected 82,886 new Covid cases on Sunday, a 72% jump on the 48,071 new infections recorded last Sunday.
A further 45 people died from Covid-related reasons, down from 111 on Friday.
Sunday’s figures are slightly lower than recent record-breaking daily case rates – it was above 90,000 on Thursday. Reported figures tend to be lower at weekends.
It comes after the UK reported 12,133 new cases of the highly transmissable Omicron variant, taking the total tally to 37,101. (The majority of cases are not sequenced.)
Updated
Summary
• Britain’s health secretary, Sajid Javid, has made clear that tougher Covid restrictions could be imposed in England before Christmas, after the government’s Sage committee warned that hospitalisations could peak at between 3,000 and 10,000 a day unless action is taken.
Javid acknowledged that data about the Omicron variant remained incomplete – but suggested it might be necessary to make decisions before a full picture is available.
• Shops in the Netherlands were closed and people’s Christmas plans were in disarray as the country began a lockdown on Sunday aimed at limiting an expected Covid-19 surge caused by the rise of the Omicron variant.
Thousands of peaceful protesters demonstrated in central Brussels on Sunday for a third time against reinforced Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike in infections and the emergence of the worrying omicron variant.
• Ministers in Britain have been accused of failing to protect the most vulnerable people from rising Covid cases after it emerged that people with blood cancer now account for a higher proportion of coronavirus deaths than earlier in the pandemic.
With daily case numbers at record highs as a result of the Omicron variant, charities warn that people with suppressed immune systems who had been helped to shield at the start of the pandemic felt obliged to put themselves at risk at work, were confused about how to access treatments and less likely to have protection from vaccines.
• Omicron is now the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland, according to authorities, who said that recent measures had slowed down the spread somewhat.
The deputy first minister of Northern Ireland’s power sharing executive, Michelle O’Neill, has warned that Omicron will hit the community there “like a ton of bricks”
• Iran has detected its first case of infection by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, state TV has reported. The United Arab Emirates has moved to limit entry to government institutions to people who have been vaccinated.
• The easily transmissible Omicron variant is “raging through the world, ”the US infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, has warned. He also cautioned that travelling will increase the risk of infection, even among vaccinated people, in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press.
Updated
Concerns about a new impact on mental health are being expressed in the Netherlands, which has become the first European state to implement a nationwide lockdown.
“Because people have no view or feel control, they experience a ‘learned helplessness,’” the Dutch news channel, NOS, was told by Andrea Evers, a professor of health psychology at Leiden University.
She saw the announcement of the latest Dutch lockdown as a missed opportunity on the part of Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, to provide more perspective about future plans that might help people to make sense of the situation.
Unlike other lockdowns in the past, this one differed in that Covid-19 looked set to remain for the time being and there was not the same optimism around the arrival of vaccines.
Saturday’s announcement of the lockdown, which starts today, came as a shock to many Dutch people as they headed into the Christmas and New Year period. Many people rushed out on Saturday to stock up on presents and food and to get a last-minute haircut.
Updated
Entry to all government-run institutions in the United Arab Emirates will be restricted to people who have been vaccinated, according to the state news agency.
#عاجل_وام : "الصحة" و"الطوارئ والأزمات" : اعتماد تطبيق نظام المرور الأخضر لدخول جميع الجهات الحكومية الاتحادية للموظفين والمراجعين في كافة إمارات الدولة والتي ستقتصر على المطعمين وأصحاب الفئات المستثناة من التطعيم، وذلك ابتداء من 3 يناير 2022.#يداً_بيد_نتعافى pic.twitter.com/5DoxaeSaSN
— وكالة أنباء الإمارات (@wamnews) December 19, 2021
Sri Lanka will require the showing of a Covid-19 vaccination certificate compulsory for entry to public places starting from New Year’s Day, in a renewed attempt to prevent another spike in infections.
Tourism minister Prasanna Ranatunga made the announcement on Sunday in an abrupt switch from the gradual ending of restrictions put into place after the country was confronted with a third wave of infections in April caused by the Delta variant.
Ranatunga said health officials were drawing up arrangements on implementing the decisions, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Updated
Covid-19 related staff absences will affect all sectors in the UK including the health services, education, police, transport and key national infrastructure unless transmission is not reduced, a leading public health expert has warned.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, who resigned in November from a national advisory body in disagreement with the government’s approach, said on Twitter today that Covid-19 and the highly infectious new Omicron variant was not just health issue but also an “economic, education, national infrastructure issue even a security issue.”
Like other healthcare experts and practitioners, Farrar has been picking up on a report on Saturday in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) that the number of National Health Service (NHS) staff in London absent due to covid has more than doubled in four days.
One in three of the workforce would be absent by New Year’s Eve if the growth rate continues, it added.
The biggest problem facing the #NHS right now is staff absence.
— Neil Stone (@DrNeilStone) December 19, 2021
A hospital bed is no good without a team to look after the patient.
Staff absence forecasts reveal ‘bleak picture’ for coming weeks | News | Health Service Journal https://t.co/HHdofAT9MF
UK reports 12,000 cases of Omicron variant
The UK reported more than 12,000 further confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the latest daily figures provided by health authorities on Sunday.
The UK Health Security Agency said on Twitter there had been an additional 12,133 confirmed cases of Omicron over the previous 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 37,101.
#OmicronVariant latest information
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 19, 2021
12,133 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across the UK.
Confirmed Omicron cases in the UK now total 37,101. pic.twitter.com/fKJ87MEkpM
The first case of Omicron was announced on 24 November by South Africa, with the first positive sample dating back to 9 November. Since then it has been found in multiple countries around the world, including the UK, where the first cases were reported on 27 November in two people in England with links to travel to southern Africa.
But the first known case is not the same as the first infection. Echoeing the views of other experts, Prof Oliver Pybus, the co-director of the Oxford Martin school’s programme on pandemic genomics, said that, in his reading, Omicron has likely been circulating for at least a month.
Updated
Thousands of peaceful protesters demonstrated in central Brussels on Sunday for a third time against reinforced Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike infections and the emergence of the worrying omicron variant.
A strong police presence was deployed on the streets in anticipation of the crowds, given how previous protests had sometimes descended into violence, arrest and injury.
The marchers – some with placards reading “free zone”, “I’ve had my fair dose” and “enough is enough” – came to protest against the government’s strong advice to get vaccinated, and included Belgian healthcare workers who will have a three-month window in which to get vaccinated against coronavirus from 1 January or risk losing their jobs.
On Sunday, the Brussels-based European Commission agreed with Pfizer-BioNTech to accelerate the delivery of vaccines starting in a few weeks. The pharmaceutical giant will deliver an additional 20m doses from January to March to European Union member states.
The Belgian protest comes one day after similar protests in other European capitals, including Paris and London.
A Brussels demonstration last month spiralled into violence as several hundred people started pelting police, smashing cars and setting garbage bins ablaze. Police responded with teargas and water cannon.
Updated
Omicron now dominant variant in Ireland
Omicron is now the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland, according to authorities, who said that recent measures had slowed down the spread somewhat.
As Ireland’s Department of Health confirmed that there had been 5,124 new cases of Covid-19, it said that it an estimated 52% of reported cases are as a result of the Omicron variant.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan told RTE News: “It has taken less than two weeks for Omicron to become the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Ireland, revealing just how transmissible this variant is.
The deputy first minister of Northern Ireland’s power sharing executive, Michelle O’Neill, has warned that Omicron will hit the community there “like a ton of bricks”.
She said that modelling presented to her and other officials suggested that, in a worst-case scenario, it could be facing 30,000 Omicron cases a day.
Updated
Americans have been urged to get their booster shots and continue to wear masks by the US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci.
Fauci said on Sunday that the easily transmissible Omicron variant is “raging through the world”.
According to Reuters, he also cautioned that travelling will increase the risk of infection, even among vaccinated people, in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press.
Updated
Omicron will hit Northern Ireland “like a ton of bricks”, the deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill has warned.
PA Media reports that O’Neill said modelling presented to Stormont ministers suggests that in a worst-case scenario, the region could be facing 30,000 cases a day.
Executive ministers are involved in discussions about the situation ahead of a formal meeting on Wednesday, when it is expected new restrictions to be applied after Christmas will be announced.
O’Neill told the BBC Sunday Politics programme that ministers will act before then if it is deemed necessary.
She said: “In terms of what we know, we know that this is going to hit us like a ton of bricks.
“We know that by the end of the year this will be the dominant strain of Covid, we know that we will peak in the middle of January, we know it is going to spread rapidly.
“What we don’t yet know is the impact in terms of our hospital situation, and we expect to understand that a bit more tomorrow and that is when we will engage again.
“Then we decide when to intervene and what is the appropriate intervention.”
Updated
In England, the NHS was given a target to administer 1m vaccine shots a day to beat Omicron.
And on Saturday they were getting pretty close, as our political editor Heather Stewart tweets:
Looks like the public are really listening to the call to get their boosters (NB this is England only). https://t.co/R8z5w8jHpN
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) December 19, 2021
Queues to get booster shots were long again on Sunday, with people lining up to get their jabs at the Wembley Stadium vaccination site:
Updated
New York state has reported that nearly 22,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday – eclipsing Thursday for the highest single-day total for new cases since testing became widely available. Amid fears over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, more than half of the positive results were in the city.
The Rockettes on Friday cancelled remaining performances of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, citing “increasing challenges from the pandemic”. Saturday Night Live taped without an audience and with reduced crew. Lines at some testing sites stretched around the block and at-home tests remained hard to find or pricier than usual.
But new hospitalisations and deaths are averaging well below their spring 2020 peak and even where they were this time last year, during a winter wave that came as vaccinations were just beginning, city data shows.
Updated
The Kremlin is convinced that the World Health Organization (WHO) will recognise Russia’s flagship Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine within a few months, the Interfax news agency cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying on Sunday.
The Kremlin on Tuesday said Russia had still not handed over all the information needed for the vaccine to be approved by the WHO because of differences in regulatory standards.
The British government’s health minister, Sajid Javid, has made clear that tougher Covid restrictions could be imposed in England before Christmas, after the government’s Sage committee warned that hospitalisations could peak at between 3,000 and 10,000 a day unless action is taken.
Javid acknowledged that data about the Omicron variant remained incomplete – but suggested it might be necessary to make decisions before a full picture is available.
Asked to rule out new measures pre-Christmas, he said: “We are assessing the situation; it’s very fast-moving,” adding, “There’s a lot of uncertainty, there are gaps in the data, but we must work with the data we’ve got, we mustn’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.”
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Javid stressed that it was already clear that Omicrom spread very quickly, adding that there were likely to be many more cases than official data is showing.
In minutes published this weekend, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) urged the government to reintroduce “more stringent measures … very soon”, warning that cases were set to reach between 600,000 and 2 million a day by the end of the month if action was not taken immediately.
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Israeli prime minister: state protection 'not enough' against Omicron
Israel’s prime minister has warned citizens against the spread of the new, highly infectious variant of coronavirus on Sunday and urged them to vaccinate.
Naftali Bennett told ministers that there was already community transmission of the omicron variant in Israel and a rise in the country’s coronavirus infection rate. He called the omicron variant “very infectious”.
“It must be understood that the collective and national protection that the state provides is not enough,” Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
He urged Israelis that “every citizen must see to themselves, their family, and their children. Don’t rely on the neighbours to vaccinate themselves and their child. It won’t help much.”
Israel rolled out a world-leading vaccination campaign, and more than 4.1 million of Israel’s 9.3 million people have received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The country’s health ministry has reported at least 134 confirmed cases of the omicron variant since its emergence in late November.
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French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has said on BFM television that the government has no plans to extend the Christmas school holidays because of the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Some European countries have brought Christmas holidays forward, and French conservative presidential candidate Valérie Pecresse has called for an extension of them in order to help ensure any infections caught over year-end holidays are discovered before children return to school.
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Piers Corbyn, a leading Covid-19 denier, has been arrested on suspicion of encouraging people to burn down MPs’ offices.
The Metropolitan police said a man in his 70s – whom it did not name – was arrested in Southwark, south London, in the early hours of Sunday.
“The arrest relates to a video posted online in which people were encouraged to burn down MPs’ offices,” the force said. Earlier, the Met said it was assessing a video that appears to show Corbyn, 74, calling for MPs’ offices to be burned down.
The video, shared on social media, shows Corbyn, a prominent anti-lockdown protester and brother of the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, criticising politicians who voted for Covid restrictions.
After urging the crowd to “hammer to death those scum who have decided to go ahead with introducing new fascism”, Corbyn appears to tell a crowd in the video: “You’ve got to get a list of them … and if your MP is one of them, go to their offices and, well, I would recommend burning them down, OK. But I can’t say that on air. I hope we’re not on air.”
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Spanish prime minister warns population of omicron threat
Spain’s prime minister has called on the country to keep its guard up as the Omicron variant spreads and as the number of cases per 100,000 people in Spain rose to 511, writes the Guardian’s Sam Jones in Madrid.
“Although the incidence is still lower than in neighbouring countries, it isn’t good because it’s a clear and real warning of the threat to the health of our fellow Spaniards and as such, it must compel us to intensify our actions as the virus grows,” Pedro Sánchez said in a televised address on Sunday morning.
The prime minister said Spain’s regional presidents would attend an online emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss next steps.
Esta nueva ola de #COVID19 tiene características distintas y nos afecta en circunstancias muy diferentes. Con más contagios, las cifras de hospitalización y ocupación de UCIs son inferiores.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) December 19, 2021
Las vacunas funcionan. Perseveremos: vacunación, vacunación y vacunación. pic.twitter.com/0KovnX9Mm5
“The virus is still among us and fighting it must continue to be a priority for all the authorities,” said Sánchez. “But I would urge people to remain calm and confident. We have come through the most painful part of this together and we will come through this by protecting the health and lives of our fellow citizens.”
However, he said that the situation appeared far better than a year ago: “It’s worth pointing out that the characteristics of this new wave are different. Although the infection numbers are higher, our hospitalisation and ICU admission figures are lower than last year. The first conclusion that should be drawn is that the vaccines work.”
To date, 89.7% of those aged over 12 in Spain have received two doses of the vaccine, and the rollout to children under 12 began earlier this week.
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Netherlands in shock as country enters lockdown
Shops in the Netherlands were closed and people’s Christmas plans were in disarray as the country began a lockdown on Sunday aimed at limiting an expected Covid-19 surge caused by the rise of the Omicron variant.
Prime minister Mark Rutte announced the sudden shutdown on Saturday evening, ordering the closure of all but the most essential stores, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places from Sunday until at least 14 January.
The news came as a shock to many Dutch people as they headed into the Christmas and New Year period, Reuters reports. Many people rushed out on Saturday to stock up on presents and food and to get a last-minute haircut.
Hospitality workers demanded compensation for lost income in the holiday season, while gym owners stressed the importance of exercise during a health crisis.
“Closing all bars and restaurants in such an important month is incredibly painful and dramatic. We need compensation and an exit strategy”, the Dutch association for hospitality services said.
All schools will close a week early for the Christmas break on Monday and will remain shut until at least 9 January, while households are recommended to receive no more than two visitors and gatherings outside are also limited to a maximum of two.
Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have dropped from record levels in recent weeks after a night-time lockdown was put in place late last month. But cases involving the Omicron variant have increased rapidly since the beginning of December and the strain is expected to become dominant before the end of the year.
This will pose a big problem for hospitals, which have been cancelling regular care for weeks as they try to avoid running out of beds due to the high numbers of Covid patients on their wards.
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Mass lateral flow testing cut the number of people needing hospital treatment for Covid by 32% and relieved significant pressure on the NHS when the measures were piloted last year, a study in north-west England has shown.
Liverpool conducted the first city-wide testing scheme using rapid antigen tests in November last year, amid debate about whether or not lateral flow tests (LFTs) were accurate enough to detect the virus in asymptomatic carriers.
It expanded the project to cover the whole of the Liverpool region, offering people LFTs whether or not they had symptoms. Key workers did daily tests before going to work to show they were not infectious.
Fresh analysis has shown that it was more successful than Liverpool’s scientists and public health teams had anticipated, after they compared Covid cases and outcomes in the region with other parts of England.
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German intelligence chief warns of far-right role in Covid protests
The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has been talking about the potential for serious acts of political violence coming from the country’s anti-vaccine movement, in which organised far right activists are increasingly involved in some regions.
Thomas Haldenwang, the president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said in an interview with journalists from the Funke media group: “It is true that there is a difference between talking about violence and committing it,”
But he cited the case of a 49-year-old German citizen who was arrested in September on suspicion of shooting dead a petrol station worker who refused to serve him while he was not wearing a mask.
Asked about possible murder plots in future, he replied: “With violence-oriented rightwing extremists and in the radicalised corona protest milieu, no scenario can be ruled out.”
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British health minister doesn't rule out 'circuit breaker' before Xmas
Most of the parties he had planned to go to have been cancelled or scaled back and he wont’t be having the same number of hugs with his elderly mother, Britain’s health minister has told the BBC.
“It’s time to be more cautious. We know this thing is spreading rapidly,” Sajid Javid told broadcaster Andrew Marr.
He was not ruling out a new “circuit breaker” increase in restrictions coming in even before Christmas.
“There are no guarantees in this pandemic. At this point, we just have to keep everything under review.”
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Iran announces first detected case of Omicron Covid-19 variant
Iran has detected its first case of infection by the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, state TV reported on Sunday.
The announcement comes as the variant spreads around the globe less than a month after scientists alerted the World Health Organization to the concerning-looking version.
Iran has vaccinated 60% of its population of roughly 85 million people with two doses of coronavirus vaccines.
The coronavirus has killed more than 131,000 people in Iran, the worst fatality rate in the Middle East. On 24 August alone, 709 people died of the illness. The number of deaths has decreased in recent months due to the vaccination, experts say.
Iran accelerated vaccinations in recent weeks. More than 50 million Iranians have received their second shots, and 3.5 million have received a third jab.
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New Covid-19 restrictions "inevitable" - London mayor
New restrictions in England that would governing social distancing and household mixing are “inevitable”, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said.
“If we don’t bring in restrictions sooner rather than later you are going to see even more positive cases and potentially public services like the NHS (National Health Service) on the verge of collapsing if not collapsing,” he said in an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
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The UK health minister, Savid Javid, also came under pressure on Sky News to say whether the government would implement stronger restrictions, in line with what experts have been recommending.
Parliament would be recalled if this was necessary, he said.
“We have shown in the past that we will do what is necessary, but it has got to be backed up by the data,” he added, though he insisted that the UK was in a “different place” in terms of the defences that vaccines and new treatments could provide.
He also faced questions about whether the public would follow any new rules – particularly in England – given recent allegations about the apparent flouting of pandemic restrictions during 2020 by staff at Downing Street, other departments and in the governing Conservative party.
“I believe the British people will respond in the same way as they have done throughout this pandemic, where if they understand the issues, know just how important it is for their families, they will respond accordingly,” said Javid.
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UK minister criticises vaccine refusers
Britain’s health minister, Sajid Javid, has said unvaccinated people are “taking up hospital beds” that could be used for someone else.
Speaking on Sky News, Javid said 10% of the population – more than 5 million people – still had not received their jabs, and about nine out of 10 of those needing the most care in hospital were unvaccinated.
He added: “I just cannot emphasise enough the impact that they are having on the rest of society.”
“They must really think about the damage they are doing to society by … they take up hospital beds that could have been used for someone with maybe a heart problem, or maybe someone who is waiting for elective surgery.”
“But instead of protecting themselves and protecting the community they choose not to get vaccinated. They are really having a damaging impact and I just can’t stress enough, please do come forward and get vaccinated.”
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UK government ministers have been accused of failing to protect the most vulnerable people from rising Covid cases after it emerged in England and Wales that people with blood cancer account for a higher proportion of coronavirus deaths than earlier in the pandemic.
With daily case numbers at record highs as a result of the Omicron variant, charities warn that people with suppressed immune systems who had been helped to shield at the start of the pandemic felt obliged to put themselves at risk at work, were confused about how to access treatments and less likely to have protection from vaccines.
More than 3,000 people with blood cancer – just over one in 100 of all those who have the disease in England and Wales – have died of Covid, according to analysis of official data by Blood Cancer UK.
This is despite these patients having spent long periods shielding to avoid contact with the virus.
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Large swathes of England, including several major cities, have no vaccination walk-in centres, it has emerged, sparking fears the government will miss its target of offering all adults a booster jab by the end of this month.
As the tide of Omicron cases surges, thousands seeking a third vaccination without having to wait days or weeks for an appointment are driving miles to neighbouring counties.
People without transport and those for whom a walk-in centre is the only option – because they do not have a GP or an NHS number – have no access to Covid booster jabs.
Several cities, including Norwich, Peterborough and York, have no walk-in centres. And there are no walk-in boosters available in entire counties, including Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire, although some offer third doses for people with weakened immune systems.
The reimposition of new Covid restrictions in England have been cited as one of the reasons for the resignation of a key UK government minister.
The departure of Lord Frost, who was the government’s ‘Brexit’ minister in charge of overseeing the continuing difficulties surrounding Britain’s departure from the European Union, presents yet another political setback for the increasingly beleaguered prime minister.
It comes after month in which one after another has popped up like – as one minister put it – a “bad advent calendar.”
Conservative MPs were already warning Boris Johnson that he must regain control of the government to survive as leader until the next election when it emerged on Saturday night that Frost is to leave the government after frustrations over Brexit negotiations and broader concerns over the government’s Covid policies and tax increases.
The peer has been vocal in recent weeks about his concerns over tax increases and the reimposition of Covid restrictions. He is understood to have spoken out against a rise in national insurance to pay for health and social care spending.
He also has concerns about plan B Covid measures, which provoked the largest Tory rebellion under Johnson’s leadership.
At a conference last month he said:
I am very happy that free Britain, or at least merry England, is probably now the freest country in the world as regards Covid restrictions. No mask rules, no vaccine passports, and long may it remain so.
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Hello and welcome to coverage of all Covid-19 related news, internationally and here in the UK, where the scale of the threat posed by the Omicron variant has been laid bare by government scientists who warned that there are now hundreds of thousands of infections every day in Britain.
They warned daily number could reach between 600,000 and 2 million by the end of the month if new restrictions are not brought in immediately.
In other developments:
• Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid infections, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.
• Germany is tightening restrictions on travel from the UK in an attempt to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
• The World Health Organization reported on Saturday that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 89 countries, and Covid cases involving the variant are doubling every one-and-a-half to three days in places with community transmission and not just infections acquired abroad.
• Kamala Harris has conceded that the Biden administration was blind to the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid-19, and said she fears “misinformation” over vaccines will prolong the pandemic well into a third year in the US.
• Australia’s federal health minister has said it is unlikely the country will follow the Netherlands and impose significant lockdowns to suppress surging Omicron infections, although the deputy chief medical officer, noted that the new variant was highly transmissible
This is Ben Quinn in London. You can flag up any news that we should be aware of on Twitter at @BenQuinn75 or email me.
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