Coronavirus - 26th December 2021

To begin the day, here is a summary of the major developments over the past 24 hours:

• Cases are continuing to rise in Australia. New South Wales recorded a record 6,394 cases, while Victoria recorded 1,608 new Covid cases. The NSW health minister has urged residents to reconsider whether they need to call an ambulance or go to hospital due to staff furloughs, warning everyone in the state was likely to be infected with Omicron.
  
  
• Testing centre delays were still hitting Australian states and territories, with some reaching capacity before opening on Boxing Day.
  
  
• France recorded a record high of 104,611 Covid-19 infections on Saturday, breaking the 100,000 threshold for the first time since the pandemic began.
  
  
• Italy reported a third successive record tally of Covid-19 cases on Christmas Day, Reuters reports. New cases reached 54,762 compared to 50,599 a day earlier, the health ministry said.
  
  
• Record cases are being reported in Ireland and in China, where authorities are imposing strict lockdowns to contain the outbreaks. Local transmission is rising in China and its Xi’an province is now allowing only one member of a household to leave their home for necessities every two days.
  
  
• More than 5,400 flight cancellations have thrown the Christmas travel schedule into chaos. Omicron has meant airlines could not staff flights. A quarter of cancelled flights were in the United States.
  
  
• New Covid measures in England could be in place until late March under measures examined by the UK government’s scientific advisers, including a ban on socialising with another household indoors and a return to the rule of six outdoors, in line with the Step 2 restrictions in place in England earlier this year
  
  
• India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has announced vaccinations for children under 15 and booster jabs for healthcare and frontline workers.
  
  
• The Omicron variant has become the dominant strain in Portugal, making up almost two-thirds of cases since Wednesday. Schools, bars and clubs are closed until 10 January.
  
  
• There were queues at vaccination centres in England, kept open in some areas to allow walk-in appointments as the government encourages booster shots to counter the surge caused by the Omicron variant.
  
  
• The Nigerian president’s top media aide Garba Shehu said on Saturday that he has tested positive for coronavirus and was in isolation.
  
  

• Pope Francis has used his Christmas address to pray for more vaccines to reach the developing world
  
• In England, Queen Elizabeth II has noted another year of pain after losing her husband, Prince Philip, in April, acknowledging Christmas can be hard for “those who have lost loved ones”.
  
• Cases are continuing to rise in Australia, where New South Wales earlier recorded a record 6,394 cases. The NSW health minister has urged residents to reconsider whether they need to call an ambulance or go to hospital due to staff furloughs, warning everyone in the state was likely to be infected with Omicron.
  
• France recorded a record high of 104,611 Covid-19 infections on Saturday, breaking the 100,000 threshold for the first time since the pandemic began
  
• Italy reported a third successive record tally of Covid-19 cases on Christmas Day.
  
• Meanwhile, some 5,400 flight cancellations have thrown the Christmas travel schedule into chaos. Omicron has meant airlines could not staff flights, with quarter of cancelled flights in the United States.
  

China reports 206 Covid cases

Sydney hospital distributes 400 false negative test results

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland reintroduce Covid restrictions as England delays

• From 6am on Boxing Day, a maximum of six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants.
  
• A total of 30 people will be allowed at indoor events while 50 people will be allowed at outdoor events.
  
• Two-metre social distancing is being required in public premises and offices, and nightclubs will close.
  

• Large events will have one-metre physical distancing and will be limited to 100 people standing indoors, 200 people sitting indoors and 500 people outdoors from 5am on Boxing Day.
  
• Up to three households can meet with a one metre distancing between groups at indoor and outdoor venues like bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and gyms.
  
• Table service is also needed at places where alcohol is served.
  
• The restrictions will be reviewed in three weeks, and will be paired with further changes coming into effect from Monday at 5am, including the closure of nightclubs.
  

• Restrictions begin on Boxing Day and December 27, with indoor standing events no longer permitted and nightclubs closing.
  

First Omicron case detected in Gaza, Palestinians say

Covid: One of the sickest patients home for Christmas

Germany records 10,100 Covid cases

UK considering door-to-door vaccination teams, reports say

France reports new record of over 100,000 infections in a single day

Travellers to Oman will need to be double vaccinated to enter the country

Saudi Arabia reports 1 death as new COVID-19 cases stay above 300-mark

Over 110 Million Indonesians Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19: Task Force

Health officers enter data of vaccination participants during the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6-11 years entitled "Special Child Vaccination" at Sasono Hinggil Dwi Abad, South Square, Yogyakarta, Tuesday 21 December 2021. Vaccination initiated by the Humanitarian Movement of the Republic of Indonesia and held until December 23, 2021, as many as 1,800 children are targeted to get the vaccine. ANTARA PHOTOS/Andreas Fitri Atmoko

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The number of Indonesians receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine increased by 451,535 to reach 110,407,287 on Saturday afternoon, the COVID-19 Response Task Force informed.

Meanwhile, the number of residents receiving their first shot rose by 768,061 to touch 156,182,585.

By Saturday afternoon, 1,280,673 people had received their third or booster dose, the task force reported.

The government is aiming to vaccinate 208,265,720 people against COVID-19 to build herd immunity.

The first-dose recipients represent 74.99 percent of the 208,265,720 targeted recipients, the task force said. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated people represent 53.01 percent of the target, it added.

Director general of public information and communication at the Communication and Informatics Ministry, Usman Kansong, said the government has continued to step up the COVID-19 vaccination drive across Indonesia even though the country’s vaccination coverage has met the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

He assured that the government will continue to expedite and expand the vaccination program so that all vaccination targets can be achieved.
“The government calls on Indonesian people who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated soon in order to protect themselves and their families,” he remarked.

Algeria brings in new vaccine passport requirements - hours after announcement

Israeli prime minister isolating after daughter tests positive for Covid

The new Covid rules in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Wales – from 26 December

Scotland – from 26-27 December

Northern Ireland – from 26-27 December

England

US reporting highest seven-day average since January

The UK Health Security Agency has tweeted a reminder that it will not be publishing new Covid figures today.

Here's a summary of the latest developments...

• The US is now reporting 184,802 new cases per day - the country’s highest seven-day average since January, reports CNN and Johns Hopkins university.
  
• The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, started isolating at home today after his daughter tested positive for Covid. His office said that he is awaiting the results of a PCR test after his 14-year-old daughter, who has been vaccinated, contracted the virus, reports Reuters.
  
• Algeria implemented new vaccine passport requirements today for crossing the border and entrance to public venues including sports facilities, cinemas, bathhouses and museums. Under a quarter of the population have had one vaccine dose amid vaccine hesitancy.
  
• Coronavirus vaccination teams could go door-to-door in the UK to reach those yet to have their jabs, reports have suggested, in a bid to stave off further restrictions, PA Media reports. The Mail on Sunday reported a trial which had been carried out in Ipswich, Suffolk, could be expanded across the whole country as the government attempted to hold out against introducing new restrictions in England.
  
• The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday it had identified the first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the Gaza Strip. Reuters reports that the carrier is a Gaza resident who was infected within the coastal territory, ministry official Majdi Dhair told a news conference.
  
• New coronavirus restrictions are being introduced in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as the country’s leaders try to combat rising Covid cases. Although Boris Johnson is still considering similar measures in England, the devolved governments have gone ahead with new rules.
  
• The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has registered 10,100 new Covid cases in Germany and 88 deaths within the past 24 hours. The RKI gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants as 220.7 as of Sunday morning. The previous day was 242.9, while a week ago the nationwide incidence was 315.4.
  
• In Australia, St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney has launched an emergency response after falsely telling 400 people they tested negative for Covid when they were, in fact, positive. The hospital has released a statement saying it is believed the mistake was down to “human error”.
  

Iran issues travel bans from four countries amid Omicron concerns

A summary of today's developments

• The US is now reporting 184,802 new cases per day - the country’s highest seven-day average since January, reports CNN and Johns Hopkins university.
  
• The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, started isolating at home today after his daughter tested positive for Covid. His office said that he is awaiting the results of a PCR test after his 14-year-old daughter, who has been vaccinated, contracted the virus, reports Reuters.
  
• Iran has banned the entry of travellers from Britain, France, Denmark and Norway for 15 days as part of coronavirus curbs, Reuters reports. State television said on Sunday a similar ban imposed in late November on travellers from South Africa and seven neighbouring countries was also extended for 15 days.
  
• Algeria implemented new vaccine passport requirements today for crossing the border and entrance to public venues including sports facilities, cinemas, bathhouses and museums. Under a quarter of the population have had one vaccine dose amid vaccine hesitancy.
  
• Kosovo’s health ministry said it had registered its first nine cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the Balkan country.
  
• Coronavirus vaccination teams could go door-to-door in the UK to reach those yet to have their jabs, reports have suggested, in a bid to stave off further restrictions, PA Media reports. The Mail on Sunday reported a trial which had been carried out in Ipswich, Suffolk, could be expanded across the whole country as the government attempted to hold out against introducing new restrictions in England.
  
• The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday it had identified the first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the Gaza Strip. Reuters reports that the carrier is a Gaza resident who was infected within the coastal territory, ministry official Majdi Dhair told a news conference.
  
• New coronavirus restrictions are being introduced in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as the country’s leaders try to combat rising Covid cases. Although Boris Johnson is still considering similar measures in England, the devolved governments have gone ahead with new rules.
  
• The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has registered 10,100 new Covid cases in Germany and 88 deaths within the past 24 hours. The RKI gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants as 220.7 as of Sunday morning. The previous day was 242.9, while a week ago the nationwide incidence was 315.4.
  
• In Australia, St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney has launched an emergency response after falsely telling 400 people they tested negative for Covid when they were, in fact, positive. The hospital has released a statement saying it is believed the mistake was down to “human error”.