Covid hospitalizations in the state of New York they hit 5,500 for the first time since February, an increase of 190% since November 1. From 19 to 23 December, the hospitalizations of children for the virus were 184, of which 109 in the city of New York, where pediatric ones have increased fivefold.
In New York from today there is also the obligation of vaccine against Covid-19 for private workers. To be able to work, workers in around 184,000 companies will have to present proof by today that they have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Companies that do not respect this rule risk fines starting from a thousand dollars but Mayor Bill de Blasio has made it clear that fines will be the last resort. Employers will need to verify certifications and keep track of them. Workers who have only received one dose of the vaccine will need to show proof of the second within 45 days.
Denmark and Iceland have new daily records of Covid-19 cases. The spread of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus, which has meanwhile become prevalent in the Norwegian capital Oslo, does not therefore seem to have reached its peak in the Nordic countries yet. In Denmark the number of infections detected in the last 24 hours has reached a new high of 16,164, exceeding the threshold of 15,000 for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Hospital admissions have soared to 608, off the record of 964 last January, mainly due to the protective effect of vaccines, according to epidemiologists. The number of deaths is also slowly increasing, increasing by 7 in the last 24 hours. In Iceland 672 cases were announced in 24 hours, another record. Until mid-December the island had never exceeded the threshold of 200 infections per day. Both countries in recent weeks had imposed restrictions on social life in order to stem the spread of the virus.
Israel meanwhile, it has launched a study for a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the first in the world of this type. The test began at Sheba Medical Center, outside Tal Aviv: 150 medical staff who had received a booster in August were given a fourth dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. Participants were tested and found that they had low antibody levels. Israeli authorities have considered starting a second round of campaign for booster doses, as the country faces an increase in infections due to the new Omicron variant.
While the data on Covid infections in Israel become increasingly worrying, the ministry of health has today reduced the minimum amount of time that must elapse between the administration of the second dose of Pfizer vaccine and the third, namely the ‘booster’: in previously the third vaccination could only be received five months after the second, from now this period is reduced to only three months. “The contagion data in Israel and in the world indicate a net increase in Covid in general and in the Omicron variant in particular”, the ministry noted. “Now there is a need to raise the level of immunity in the population as soon as possible” . The ministry noted that other countries, such as Great Britain, Germany and France are also moving in the same direction.
The Great Britain reported 98,515 new cases and 143 deaths (calculated within 28 days of the positive test result). The data contained no results from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales due to differences in reporting practices over the Christmas period.
And it is going on in France the Health Defense Council dedicated to the pandemic crisis chaired by President Emmanuel Macron from the residence of Fort de Bregançon. An extraordinary Council of Ministers will follow. At the end of the work, Prime Minister Jean Castex and Health Minister Olivier Véran will communicate the decisions taken. Various hypotheses and proposals are being examined, from a postponement of the return to school at the end of the Christmas holidays to a curfew for the evening of 31.