EUROPE
Another 58 positive cases of the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 have been detected, compared to yesterday, in the EU countries and the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein), for a total of 167 cases so far, in 17 states. This was announced by the ECDC, European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. In Italy, the cases detected are still 9; Portugal, which maintains strong ties with Angola and Mozambique, former colonies, is the one that registers the most, 34. Luxembourg reports its first case, while other “probable” cases of Omicron are under examination in several countries. The majority of the positives to the variant discovered in South Africa traveled to the continent, except for the infections sequenced in Belgium, Germany, Spain. All cases for which indications are available on the intensity of symptoms are asymptomatic or mild, confirms the ECDC. So far, no deaths have been recorded among the positives to the Omicron variant, although, the Stockholm-based agency warns, the number of cases is too low to understand whether the spectrum of symptoms caused by the variant differs from that of the previous ones or not. versions of the Sars-CoV-2.
APPEAL OF MERKEL: “With vaccines, effective and safe, we have the key in hand”
Every dose of vaccine counts and will help us put this pandemic behind us “: Angela Merkel, who will leave the helm of Germany to her successor Olaf Scholz from 8 December, makes one last appeal to the German population. video-podcast published today on the Internet. “With vaccines, effective and safe, we have the key in hand”, he stressed. “The new Omicron variant seems to be even more contagious than the previous ones.” Merkel concluded her message by thanking those who act “with common sense and understanding” and “follow the rules, to protect themselves and take care of others” and stressed that they represent “the vast majority of the country”.
FRANCE
“We have a dizzying curve and in this context the Defense Council meets,” said Attal during a visit to the Parisian airport of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle. From today, Attal recalled, “there is a new drastic organization” for flights with southern Africa to counter the Omicron variant. Attal also announced new measures, for example the request for a negative test and a period of isolation for those arriving from countries at risk, namely those of the scarlet red group. For now, 12 positive cases with Omicron variant have been identified on the national territory. The country recorded almost 50,000 new infections on Friday and over 2,000 people were hospitalized in intensive and sub-intensive care units. Hospitals are filling up again and some are already in trouble. Last week the incidence rate reached 342 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The government is betting heavily on the vaccination campaign. “We must continue to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate and observe containment measures,” said Macron. In mid-December, children between 5 and 11 years of age with frailty will also be able to receive the serum.
ENGLAND
Cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus more than doubled to 150 in the UK after the discovery yesterday of another 75 infections in England, 16 in Scotland and the first in Wales: the government has announced, according to the Independent newspaper. . So far, no cases have been registered in Northern Ireland. As for England alone, the new 75 cases are added to the previous 29, for a total (updated to yesterday) of 104. The director of the National Health Safety Agency (UKHSA), Jenny Harries, specified that some new infections have been identified in people who have not traveled abroad, and this indicates – he commented – that in the country there is now “a small part of transmission (of the virus) in the community”.
AUSTRIA
In Austria, in lockdown for almost two weeks, the new daily cases of Covid-19 have halved. From the more than 15,000 infections in the week before November 22, the day of the introduction of the lockdown that is also affecting vaccinated people, yesterday’s data from the Ministries of Health and the Interior refer to 7,304 new cases. According to the Agency for Health and Food Safety (Ages), the weekly incidence, or the number of new coronavirus infections in the last seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, is 713.9. Currently positive people are 117,049 (6,189 fewer than yesterday). Yesterday 60 people died of the new coronavirus for a total of 12,753 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Covid patients admitted to hospitals remain stable, 3,163 in normal wards and 648 in intensive care. The lockdown will last until 12 December (17 in Upper Austria) and subsequently the ‘2G’ rule will come into force which will allow access to places with more than 25 people only to people vaccinated (‘geimpft’) or cured (‘genesen ‘). Molecular, antigenic swabs and antibody testing will no longer be allowed. From 6 December the validity of green passes will be reduced to 270 days from complete immunization and vaccination with the single-dose ‘Johnson & Johnson’ will only be recognized until 3 January 2022 (recall will be required).
CHINA
While Omicron, the heavily altered variant of Covid-19 creates concerns globally, China says it will stick to its strict anti-virus policy, taking all necessary steps to eliminate infections before the new mutation can wreak havoc. Cases of Omicron, defined by WHO as a “worrying variant”, have been reported in South Africa, Israel, Italy, Australia and the United States, with more countries beginning to restore border restrictions and travel bans. The Chinese health authority said the country will stick to its current anti-Covid strategy aimed at preventing imported cases and internal resurgence, noting that this approach is also effective against Omicron. “No matter how the virus mutates, it’s still the new Coronavirus,” said Zhang Wenhong, head of the Infectious Disease Center at Huashan Hospital of Shanghai’s Fudan University. “China’s current rapid response and rigorous anti-virus strategy can cope with various types of Covid-19 variants,” the official added. Chinese experts, however, have not let their guard down as they are following the situation closely, evaluating the risks of Omicron transmission and its impact on existing vaccines and drugs.
“To deal with highly contagious variants, the sooner we detect an infection, the sooner we can take action to eliminate it,” Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission, told Xinhua Ma Xiaowei. All local case outbreaks in China’s Covid-19 resurgence since mid-October have come from overseas, and at its peak, the new wave has reached more than 20 provincial-level subdivisions. In dealing with these imported cases of the Delta variant, most subdivisions managed to keep the outbreak under control within an incubation period of approximately 14 days. With the aim of containing the virus in the incubation period, the competent Chinese agencies took full advantage of the so-called ‘golden period’, i.e. the first 24 hours from the detection of a contagion, to identify those who had entered closely contact with the positive, to isolate potentially infected individuals before the spread of Covid-19, or before the positive patient could transmit the virus, Ma added, considering the strategy as an essential procedure for China’s fight against the epidemic. . ‘Speed’ was imperative throughout the entire process, as only through quick action can the spread of the virus be minimized. Shanghai recently managed to bring a resurgence of the virus under control in three days. Immediately after the three cases were reported, the local authorities activated an emergency response: the local government ordered the epidemiological investigators to go to the site within two hours, complete the basic investigations within four hours and conclude the epidemiological reports within 24 hours. .
China has continuously adapted its Covid-19 prevention and control measures: from the emergency response at the start of the epidemic to routine exploratory containment until August, then arriving at the current strategy of eliminating infections in a way timely. Alarmed by the gaps that have emerged in the latest upsurge in local cases, the central government has asked local authorities to remain strictly on guard against imported cases, to improve epidemic response capacity in key areas, to limit tourism activities and to promote mass vaccination. More than 1.1 billion people in China have completed vaccination against the new Coronavirus, and health authorities are promoting the booster program nationwide. The current strategy includes targeted containment measures that cover the entire outbreak response chain. “We thought, especially during the period in which we had to cope with the spread of the Delta variant, about how to control the epidemic with more effective measures, at lower costs and at higher speeds to minimize its impact on economic and social development and on people’s lives, ”said Ma.
The government also noted that the response to the outbreak in some countries, which have not implemented strict control measures, has been unsatisfactory, with relapses severely impacting individuals’ lives, health and the economy and society in general. “As a result, China has focused on improving epidemic prevention and early diagnosis,” noted Ma, then adding that “China’s practices in the fight against Covid-19 show that effectively containing the virus, in a Country with a population of over 1.4 billion, it is its greatest contribution to the global fight against the pandemic ». Xu Wenbo, an expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Omicron spreads very fast, according to the latest epidemiological data reported in South Africa. However, it may take weeks before the variant’s virulence is understood. According to the latter, the mutation of the Omicron variant will not affect the sensitivity and specificity of the main reagents used in China for nucleic acid analysis. Some Chinese companies have already launched the initial planning phase for specific vaccine formulations targeting Omicron. Zhang Wenhong said the eastern country is accelerating scientific support to cope with the new mutations, taking advantage of the opportunities brought by its current strategy. “With science and solidarity, we have coped well with the Delta variant,” said Zhang, adding, “we can do the same with Omicron.”