In France, school is back but with new rules while Israel reopens, in part, to foreign tourists: with Omicron cases growing a bit all over the world, states and governments are introducing stricter rules to avoid new lockdowns.
Israel: cases on the rise, but borders reopened for some countries
There are 6,562 new cases of Covid-19 registered on the last day in Israel. This was announced by the Israeli Ministry of Health, underlining that this is the highest number of infections since September. The national positivity rate also peaked, at 4.83 percent out of approximately 140,000 tests conducted.
However, the government has decided to allow foreigners recovered from Covid-19 and from countries considered to be at medium risk to enter Israel starting January 9.
Coronavirus in the world: “Omicron could lead Israel to herd immunity”
Fully vaccinated foreigners (with the third dose) will be able to enter Israel as long as they do not come from ‘red’ countries. The red countries remain: United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Switzerland. The health ministry also recommended lowering the risk level for those arriving from South Africa, Nigeria, Spain, Portugal, France and Canada.
In France schools reopen with new rules
Schools reopened today in France for the return after the holidays under the banner of uncertainty due to the unprecedented impact on the infections of the Omicron variant. The main risks, in addition to a further spread of the virus (over 200,000 people were infected every 24 hours in the last few days) are the closure of classes and the risk of contagion for teachers, with consequent mass absenteeism. The Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, has decided to strengthen “contact tracing” for children, with the obligation to subject the youngest students to 3 swabs in 4 days after the detection of a positive case in their class. The return to the banks “will take place upon presentation of a negative result”, the minister specified.
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UK: Government asks managers to test plan with 25% fewer staff
The UK government has asked public sector executives to test their contingency plans in a worse scenario than the current one considering a 25% staff absence, as part of efforts to minimize disruption to services due to the increase of infections.
In the meantime, schools have reopened throughout the Kingdom: secondary school children will have to wear masks.
India starts vaccinating teenagers
The vaccination campaign for the 15-18 age group has started in India. This was announced by the Indian Ministry of Health, specifying that adolescents will be given two doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine 28 days apart. Teens will receive the vaccine in schools.
“The largest vaccination campaign in the world for children aged 15 to 18 has begun across the country today,” tweeted Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. “If the children are safe, then the future of the country is too,” he added.
In Australia, record of infections
Australia has recorded a record number of almost 40 thousand infections from Covid-19, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison has assured that he will not change the economic reopening plans. “We have changed gears: we are managing to live with the virus. People can keep working, children can go back to school when it starts again, people can keep their businesses open,” he said. In Australia – a country that has maintained a tough policy of closures for some time and that, since last November 1st, the progressive reopening of international borders has begun – in recent days the daily number of infections has tripled, which around Christmas did not reach 100 thousand a day.
Covid, too many infections and few workers: in the United Kingdom waste collection is also blocked
by our correspondent Antonello Guerrera
First two Omicron victims in South Korea
South Korea has reported two deaths related to the Omicron variant. This was reported by the agency Yonhap News stressing that these would be the first two fatal cases in the country linked to the variant identified in South Africa. Health authorities in Gwangju, 329 km south of Seoul, said two recently deceased coronavirus patients in the city, both 90, tested positive for the Omicron variant.
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