Coronavirus - 28th December 2021

Summary for Tuesday, 28th December

The main developments over the past 24 hours:

• Thousands more flights have been cancelled by airlines around the world, causing chaotic scenes at airports at one of the busiest times of the year for travel. Carriers scrapped 2,700 flights on Monday and a further 800 have already been dropped from Tuesday’s schedules. Dr Anthony Fauci said a vaccine mandate should be considered for all passengers in the US.
  
• Boris Johnson will not introduce further Covid restrictions in England before 2022, giving mass events the go-ahead and leaving nightclubs open for New Year’s Eve – in contrast with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scientists said it was “the greatest divergence between scientific advice and legislation” seen since the start of the pandemic.
  
• The US Centre for Disease Control has reduced the recommended isolation time for people recording a positive test from 10 days to five. The CDC said these changes reflect the latest data on when the virus is most contagious.
  
• Joe Biden said the dramatic surge in US Covid cases caused by the Omicron variant “should be a source of concern but it should not be a source of panic”.
  
• France has narrowed the delay for a third booster shot to three months from four in response to the rapid spread of Omicron but there will be no curfew for New Year’s Eve. From Monday, all indoor gatherings will be limited to 2,000 people, and to 5,000 people for outdoor events. Consumption of drinks and food will be banned in long-distance transport and home working will become mandatory for at least three days per week where possible.
  
• Denmark and Iceland reported record daily Covid cases on Monday. Denmark now has the world’s highest infection rate, with 1,612 cases per 100,000 people.
  
• The number of patients in England admitted into hospital with Covid-19 has reached its highest level since mid-February after a 74% rise in a week. In London, hospital admissions have increased by 73%. A total of 8,474 people were in hospital in England with Covid-19 as of 8am today – the highest number since 5 March.
  
• Scotland has recorded a record number of Covid cases over the Christmas weekend, hitting a high of 11,030 new cases on Boxing Day, the Scottish government has said. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, is due to update a specially-reconvened sitting of the Scottish parliament on Wednesday about the spread of the virus and the impact on hospitals.
  
• Paraguay has confirmed the country’s first Omicron cases, health officials said. The cases were detected in people who had travelled outside the country this month but the government has not taken immediate action on travel. Argentina reported its highest daily tally for six months with 20,263 cases.
  
• Greece has announced further restrictions effective between 3 and 16 January to contain a further surge in Covid infections. Bars and restaurants will have to close at midnight and no standing customers at entertainment venues will be allowed. There will also be a maximum limit of six people per table.
  

Thousands more flights scrapped

More than 3,500 flights have been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday causing widespread disruptions for travellers all over the world as airlines crews succumb to the Omicron Covid strain.
According to flight tracker FlightAware, 2,700 flights have been cancelled on Monday and 860 more on Tuesday.
n total, 11,000 flights have been cancelled since Friday thanks to the impact on crews, although bad weather has also played a part in cancellations in the US.
In more travel misery, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday it was investigating 68 cruise ships after reports of Covid-19 cases on board.

China cases rise again

China’s coronavirus cases rose for a fourth consecutive day on Monday, with Xi’an city reporting more infections in a flare up that has put 13 million residents under lockdown.
Xi’an reported 175 cases, up from the previous day’s 150, official data showed on Tuesday. None of them are of the Omicron variant. China has reported only a handful of Omicron infections among international travellers and in its south.
Mainland China detected 182 local symptomatic cases for Monday, the health commission said, compared with 162 a day earlier.
Xi’an is experiencing China’s biggest community outbreak since 2020.

Germany has reported another 21,080 cases

This brings the country’s total to 7,026,369. The Robert Koch Institute also reported another 372 deaths which means that Germany has now seen 110,805 people die of Covid-19.

What the papers say

Let’s take a look at some of the UK papers for Tuesday, most of which lead on the announcement that there will be no new restrictions before New Year’s Eve:

Daily new coronavirus cases in Turkey surged 30%

Reuters reports that daily new coronavirus cases in Turkey surged 30% on Monday to 26,099, health ministry data showed, the highest percentage rise this year, as the health minister warned about the rapid spread of the Omicron variant:

Turkey’s daily case levels have been below or about 20,000 in December, down from about 30,000 in October. The number of deaths due to coronavirus fell to 157 on Monday from 173 a day earlier.

“The Omicron variant is spreading more quickly than the other variants,” health minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter late on Monday. “You must be careful and get your booster shot done.”

Poland reports 9,843 new positive infections

Poland reported 9,843 positive Covid infections today, a 44% drop on the 17,460 cases detected on Tuesday two weeks ago.
Poland saw high case numbers often over 25,000 a day in late-November and early-December. In recent weeks cases have receded, but Omicron is driving fears of a new wave.
A further 549 people died from the virus in the past 24 hours, local media Polskie Radio reports, bringing Poland’s total fatalities to 94,914, the world’s 16th highest.
New restrictions – tighter quarantine rules for people living with a Covid-infected person, and the closure or capacity-limitation of certain public venues – were implemented this month.
Poland currently has 21,283 patients with Covid in hospitals, the health ministry said, and 250,422 people are quarantined after exposure.

Japan reports first suspected Omicron cluster

Japanese officials have detected a five-person cluster of Omicron cases in the city of Osaka, local media agency Kyodo reports.
It follows days of anxiety over Omicron community transmission in Japan, which has imposed strict border restrictions in attempts to shut out the variant.
The cluster relates to five people in a nursing home. Omicron has been detected beforehand but this is the first suspected cluster, Kyodo reports.
Prime minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday Japan is prepared for a domestic outbreak. “Using the time we bought through strengthened border controls, we have accelerated efforts to enhance the process of prevention, testing and early treatment,” he said.
Japan detected 214 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, the Japan Times reports, a 67% increase on the 128 on Tuesday two weeks ago. No Covid deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Shoppers in Tokyo, Japan on 28 December. Photograph: Kimimasa Mayama/EPA

Lockdown-like restrictions announced in Delhi, India

The government of Delhi, India on Tuesday announced more restrictions in the nation’s capital city amid rising Omicron cases, the Times of India reports.
The city of around 19 million people will enter lockdown-like restrictions after it reported a further 63 Omicron cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 142. (The number is likely to be much higher.)
“As the Covid-19 positivity rate has been above 0.5% for the past few days, we are enforcing Level-I (yellow alert) of the Graded Response Action Plan,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
The new restrictions include, the Times reports, among other things:

• Schools, colleges and other educational institutions closed
  
• Sports complexes, cinemas, conference halls, stadiums and swimming pools closed
  
• Offices at 50% max capacity
  
• Restaurants and bars at 50% max capaicty with a 10pm curfew
  
• Delhi Metro at 50% seating capacity and no standing
  

It comes after India reports 671 total Omicron cases seequenced so far.
Despite the severity of India’s Delta wave providing some barrier of protection from antibodies, there are fears Omicron could re-infect people – and that the high use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which studies have showed to be less effective against Omicron, could provoke a new wave.

London Covid: Scientist's warning to Boris Johnson as he delays Plan B over New Year

A lack of rules over the New Years Eve celebrations could cause a "significant problem"
While the Government has announced that no new rules will be brought in before the new year to stem the spread of the Omicron some scientists have warned that this could be a grave mistake.
According to one health expert a lack of new restrictions could mean England faces a "significant problem" caused by "hospitalisations and mass sickness".
Despite a surge in positive infections during the festive period the Health Secretary Sagid Javid confirmed on Monday (December 27) that no new Covid rules would be introduced, reports The Mirror.
However, while there were no explicit new rules the Health Secretary did advise people to celebrate New Year outside if possible and remain cautious.
The lack of new restrictions will please many business owners, particularly in the hospitality industry, but scientists have warned that the flimsy approach comes with risks.
Simon Clarke, an associate professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading, pointed out it is better to act quickly against the virus.
“While nobody wants to live under tighter controls, the public need to realise that if we end up with a significant problem of hospitalisations and mass sickness, it will be worse than if authorities had acted earlier,” he told the Guardian.
There have been 113,628 new infections reported in England on December 25, 103,558 on December 26 and 98,515 on December 27.
So far only partial Covid data for the UK has been published for the Christmas period, with full figures to be released later this month.
Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London also told the newspaper: “It does feel hard that, at a time when we need to all pull together to maximise all possible mitigations, we seem to have our greatest divergence between expert clinical/scientific advice and legislation.”
Mr Javid said on Monday: "We look at the data on a daily basis - that hasn't changed over the Christmas period.
"But there will be no further measures before the New Year. Of course, people should remain cautious as we approach New Year's celebrations.
"Take a lateral flow test if that makes sense, celebrate outside if you can, have some ventilation if you can.
"Please remain cautious and when we get into the new year, of course, we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures, but nothing more until then, at least."
Elsewhere in the UK, tougher restrictions have been introduced including a return to table service in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
But Boris Johnson has steered away from going beyond his "Plan B" that involves face mask wearing , and Covid passports or negative tests for some venues involving crowds.

Indonesia detects first Omicron case in community

Indonesian health authorities said on December 28 that they are conducting contact tracing after the Southeast Asian country detected the first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the community.

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian health authorities said on December 28 that they are conducting contact tracing after the Southeast Asian country detected the first case of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the community.
Speaking at a press conference, health ministry official Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the first confirmed case was a 37-year-old male who was from the city of Medan.
The man had no recent history of overseas travel or contact with international travellers, Tarmizi said, adding he was asymptomatic and was in isolation at a Jakarta hospital.
Earlier this month, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged people to strictly follow health protocols after authorities said that an employee at an hospital which serves as a quarantine site in Jakarta had tested positive for the variant.
Health authorities said that there have been 47 confirmed cases of Omicron in Indonesia, mostly imported ones.
The Indonesian government has decided to increase the number of PCR tests for arrivals during mandatory quarantine to three

Cases rising rapidly in United Arab Emirates

The multibillion-pound world’s fair in Dubai has warned that some venues on site may shut down as Covid cases rapidly rise in the United Arab Emirates, AP reports.

Dubai’s Expo 2020 said that virus outbreaks among staff may force some parts of the fair to “close temporarily for deep cleaning and sanitization,” without elaborating on the scope or the location of the infections.

The UAE’s daily virus caseload has skyrocketed by a multiple of 37 in just the last three weeks after the arrival of the omicron variant.

The vague statement from Dubai’s government-run media office on Monday underscores the daunting challenges of hosting among the world’s first major in-person events amid a still-raging pandemic. The fair opened in October after a year’s delay as the UAE bet that its rapid vaccine rollout would allow its economy to avoid the closures that have paralyzed much of the West.
With Dubai’s peak winter tourism season in full swing, the world’s fair has vaulted into the spotlight. Millions of tourists from around the world are flocking to the sprawling site packed with scores of national pavilions, restaurants, shops and performance stages.

Wales reports 12,378 new Covid cases over past 48 hours

Steven Morris - The Guardian
Public Health Wales has reported a new 12,378 Covid cases over the latest 48 hour period and warned that the country is quickly catching up with the rates seen in England.
Wales was stable at around 2,500-3,000 new cases every day until Omicron hit the UK. The seven day case rate per 100,000 is now up to 918.
The Labour-led Welsh government is under fire for imposing stricter restrictions than England with bosses in the night-time industry warning they are being unfairly hit, especially at new year’s eve.
The Tories in Wales are demanding to see the science behind the government’s decisions. Its leader in the Welsh parliament, Andrew RT Davies, said: “It’s unacceptable that Labour ministers have failed to publish the scientific advice and evidence behind the latest Covid restrictions in Wales.
“The public health picture is challenging for ministers of all stripes across the UK, but full transparency on the data and information behind decision-making is crucial.
“Many Welsh businesses will be severely hit this Christmas and New Year, and I can understand their anger and frustration given they’re not being afforded the advice that’s provided to ministers.”
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “The Omicron variant is causing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases across Wales.
“Already, people are off work sick, putting essential services under strain and we expect this situation to get worse.
“New protections have been put into place to help businesses continue to trade and updated and strengthened guidance has been issued to help people stay safe in their homes. We all need to do everything we can to protect ourselves and keep Wales safe.”

Ukraine reports 2,248 new positive cases in the past 24 hours

Ukraine detected 2,248 new positive Covid tests in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, a 71% decrease from the 7,716 new cases on Tuesday two weeks ago.
Ukraine saw spiking cases in late October and early November, sometimes above 20,000 or 25,000 a day, but cases have receded in recent weeks. (Some countries are reporting lower numbers over the holiday period.)
A further 134 Covid-related deaths were recorded, a 68% decrease on two weeks ago, and 944 hospitalisations were reported. Ukraine’s death toll is now 95,105, the world’s 15th highest.

US Covid cases are 58.6% Omicron – CDC

Omicron accounts for 58.6% of all Covid cases in the US, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows.
Delta accounts for 41.1% of Covid cases for the week ending 25 December. (The remaining 0.3% is made up of other variants.)
The drastic rise of the highly-mutated strain comes after the US reported its first Omicron case on only 1 December. Omicron has pushed cases up to record levels in some states and sparked a rush for the delivery of booster jabs in efforts to beat back the variant.
The new data comes after Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser, said the US should consider making vaccination mandatory for domestic air travel, to push up the vaccination compliance rate.

US NBA positive-tested players can now return sooner to play

In the US, National Basketball Association (NBA) players who test positive for Covid now have a quicker path to return to play, AP reports, after the league cut isolation times from ten to six days for vaccinated asymptomatic players.
The NBA has seen coronavirus numbers soar in recent days, even with 97% of players vaccinated and at least 65% of eligible players boosted against the virus.
It follows a move from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to cut the isolation period for people testing Covid-positive from ten to five days. Officials said that data shows people ar emost infectious in the two days before, and three days after, symptoms appear.
Read the full NBA story here.

Shortages of lateral flow tests and lack of walk-in test slots in England

Shortages in England of lateral flow tests and lack of walk-in test slots are threatening to undermine the UK government’s plans for New Year’s Eve celebrations to go ahead unimpeded, The Guardian reports.

Some community pharmacies in rural areas said they had not received deliveries of LFTs since early last week, although many remained closed on Monday and Tuesday because of the extended bank holidays.
People turning to the NHS website were also out of luck: on Tuesday morning it said no delivery slots for LFTs were available, for the second day in a row. But by mid-afternoon deliveries were again being offered, with a warning that the LFT kits could take three days to arrive.
The UK Health Security Agency said it encouraged people to revisit the sites “every few hours” if they were unable to order tests, as more would become available, and to use any tests they may already have before ordering or collecting more kits.
A spokesperson said: “Despite unprecedented demand, we are continuing to supply millions of rapid lateral flow tests every day. Our total delivery capacity has doubled to 900,000 test kits per day since Saturday 18 December so more people can order tests.

Read the full story here.

Record demand in Scotland for PCR tests have left some families waiting up to five days for results over the Christmas period.
Some people taking tests on 23 December only got them back on 28 December, the BBC reports. The normal waiting time is within 48 hours.
Both Scotland and England detected record-level daily case numbers over the Christmas period, with infections peaking provisionally in Scotland at 11,030 on 26 December.
“I couldn’t see my mum on Christmas Day and my dad couldn’t see his partner. It was all a bit strange,” teacher Matthew Campbell from Dundee told the BBC. Campbell spent Christmas day in isolation awaiting a PCR test taken on 23 December – only for it to be negative on 28 December.
The BBC has more details:

The UK Health Security Agency apologised to those waiting “a little longer” for their result. They said they were adding extra capacity to their laboratories to meet “exceptional demand”.
Scotland’s national clinical director Jason Leitch told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland the delays were caused by the scale of demand. “Quite a lot of people went for testing before Christmas in order to try and get Christmas celebrations that were safe if they had symptoms, or if they had contact,” he said. “So I apologise for that, I’m sorry if people had to wait a little bit longer.”

UK reports 17,269 new Omicron cases amid PCR test waits and LFT shortages

The UK Health Security Agency detected 17,269 new cases of the Omicron variant in the past 24 hours, taking the country’s tally to 177,201 identified through sequencing.
The majority of tests are not sequenced so the figure is likely to be far higher. Scotland and Wales have not reported case numbers since 23 December.
People in England who have died with the Omicron variant has risen to 49, the UKHSA said. Hospitalisations reached a total of 668 in England.
It comes after PCR tests are taking up to five days for results in Scotland and a shortage of lateral flow tests in England threaten New Year’s Eve plans.

A few changes recently around the world on Covid isolation rules.

Nicola Davis - The Guardian
Public health authorities in the UK and US cited data on infectiousness when cutting their isolation times from ten days to seven and five, respectively.

Dr Richard Tedder, a member of the Clinical Virology Network, said the shift was a compromise, and was based on the assumption that people with two negative tests are unlikely to transmit coronavirus to contacts.
“On a balance of probabilities this is probably correct,” he said, although he suggested the situation may be different for some people, such as those who are immunosuppressed, and it may not hold if future variants are not picked up by lateral flow tests.

But not everyone agrees – particularly in the US, where a negative test is not required.
Dr Michael Mina, an assistant professor at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, noted that some people can stay infectious for 12 days so testing is crucial. “I absolutely don’t want to sit next to someone who turned Positive 5 days ago and hasn’t tested [negative],” he said on Twitter.

Here’s a roundup of the latest news on Omicron and Covid from around the world:

• The Delhi government announced lockdown-like restrictions as the Omicron variant spreads, with certain public venues shuttered and others at 50% capacity or facing curfews, impacting the Indian city’s over 19 million people.
  China shut down the city of Yan’an, joining Xi’an as millions are now locked down to prevent Omicron taking hold.
  
• Malaysia banned New Year’s Eve mass celebrations and people will require negative tests for private celebrations.
  
• Japan reported its first suspected Omicron cluster in Osaka, leading to fears of community transmission despite Japan’s strict border policies.
  
• Wales reported 12,378 Covid cases in past 48 hours, with the UK reporting 17,269 new Omicron cases in the past 24 hours.
  
• Scotland is suffering with up to five-day PCR test waiting times, and England is experiencing a shortage of lateral flow tests that threatens New Year’s Eve celebrations.
  
• Hospitality bosses in England welcomed news of no further restrictions over New Year. Meanwhile, a leading immunologist said Omicron is “not same disease as a year ago” and horrific levels of UK deaths are “now history.”
  
• Indonesia detected first Omicron case in a 37-year-old man.
  France reduced the waiting time for a third booster shot to three months from four in response to the rapid spread of Omicron.
  
• Omicron cases make up 58.6% of US Covid cases, CDC data showed.
  
• Also in the US, top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci suggested the federal government should consider a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel.
  
• Globally, 3,500 flights were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday as airlines crews become infected with the Omicron Covid strain.
  
• The S&P 500, the benchmark US stock market index, opened at record highs after four buoyant days as investors shrug off Omicron concerns.
  
• Health authorities in Denmark are concerned over low vaccination rates for children ahead of the 5 January return to schools and urged parents to come forward.
  

London expert issues urgent warning to anyone doing a lateral flow Covid test

There is one thing everyone should add when doing a test

Ella Doyle, London News
Those doing “nose only” lateral flow tests should swab their throat as well to avoid false negatives, experts have warned.

As Omicron cases have soared in the Capital, many are reliant on lateral flow tests to check if they have coronavirus before seeing family and friends.

However, experts in London have raised concerns about the tests, with many urging that swabbing only your nose is not as accurate.

Professor Jennifer Rhon, cell biologist at University College London (UCL), posted about her own experience with the “nose only” tests on Twitter.

An assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard, Dr Michael Mina, explained why this may be the case, Wales Online reports.
He said: "Symptoms are starting very early with Omicron.
“This means that there is a chance the virus isn't yet growing in the nose when you first test [as the] virus may start further down.
“Throat swab + nasal may improve chances a swab picks up virus.”

Currently, the Omicron wave is leading to less hospital admissions than previous strains of the virus.
Data on the Government's Covid dashboard shows that there were 8,474 people in hospital with Covid on Monday (December 27) whereas on the same day in 2020 there were 19,277.

Denmark now has the world’s highest Covid infection rate with 1,612 cases per 100,000 people.
The country of 5.8 million on Monday reported a new record for daily infections and now has the highest recorded incidence of the virus in the world.
New daily cases exceeded 15,000 for the first time, with health authorities registering 16,164 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. The 16,164 positive results came from 130,686 PCR tests, giving a remarkably high positivity rate of 12.4 percent.
As of last week, the Omicron variant is the dominant form of the virus in the country.
The five countries with the highest case rates over the last seven days were all European, according to statistics compiled by news wire AFP and drawn from official sources.
The numbers, taken from statistics bureau Our World in Data on 27 December, place Denmark as the country with the highest incidence of the virus.
There is, however, a large variation in the amount of testing undertaken by different countries, with Denmark among the countries that carries out the most tests per resident.

Shortage of free covid testing kits in Madrid

Demand for free Covid-19 testing kits provided by Madrid’s regional government, which is relying on increased testing instead of restrictions on socialising, far outstripped supply on Tuesday, with long queues forming outside pharmacies, Reuters reports.
Madrid-based pharmacist Cristina Sanchez said she had only received 20 test kits to distribute on Tuesday as part of a plan to reinforce supply after pharmacies started running out of paid tests, but there were already more than 30 people waiting ouside when she opened.
Fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, cases in Spain have soared in the past month, pushing the national 14-day incidence to a record 1,206 cases per 100,000 people on Monday, a five-fold rise since the beginning of December.
Despite the surge, hospital admissions and intensive-care occupancy remain well below the peaks of last January.
The government reintroduced an outdoor mask mandate last week, but has so far not attempted to reimpose any tougher national restrictions.
However, regional administrations, which are responsible for implementing their own health policy, have introduced measures ranging from a night curfew in Catalonia to limits on social gatherings and bar opening times.

England records highest number of Covid hospitalisations since early February on Boxing Day

There were 1,374 Covid-19 hospital admissions in England on 26 December, NHS England said.
This is up 48% week-on-week and is the highest number since 11 February.
During the second wave of coronavirus, admissions peaked at 4,134 on 12 January.
In London, 374 admissions were reported on 26 December, up 53% week-on-week but slightly below the 390 admissions reported on 23 December.
Admissions during the second wave peaked in London at 977 on 6 January, PA reports.
The number of Covid-19 admissions includes people admitted to hospital in the previous 24 hours who were known to have Covid-19, plus any patients diagnosed in hospital with Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has predicted that Omicron case numbers will continue to rise in Scotland as she prepared to address Holyrood about further possible restrictions on Wednesday.
Severin Carrell - The Guardian, Scotland editor
The latest provisional data showed 9,360 new cases were recorded in Scotland on Tuesday, following a record daily high of 11,030 recorded on Boxing Day, with 10,562 cases detected on Monday. Confirmed daily case numbers for the Christmas period are expected to be published on Wednesday.
Jason Leitch, the Scottish government’s national clinical director, told the BBC earlier the present Omicron wave was likely to peak in mid- to late-January across the UK, or possibly early February. He said it may yet become an “enormous wave” dwarfing the current case numbers.
“The modelling suggests that we won’t see the big numbers and that seems terrifying having nine to 10 and 11,000, you won’t see the big numbers for two to three weeks yet,” he said.
Sturgeon urged people to take up the offer of booster vaccinations and to act as cautiously as possible this week, particularly around Hogmanay and New Years day. Many organised Hogmanay events have been cancelled.
She said:

While these figures remain provisional, the significantly increased transmissibility of Omicron is reflected in the steep increase in cases now materialising, and we would expect to see case numbers rise further in the days to come.
[We] must not underestimate the impact of Omicron. Even if the rate of hospitalisation associated with it is lower than past strains of the virus, case numbers this high will still put an inevitable further strain on the NHS, and create significant levels of disruption due to sickness absence across the economy and critical services.

UK reports highest daily cases of 129,471

The UK recorded 129,471 new Covid cases on Tuesday, the government’s Covid dashboard says. This is the highest recorded total ever, and up from 98,515 reported yesterday.
A further 18 deaths were also reported. This data is incomplete due to the holiday period so the true figures are likely to be higher. Provisional figures for Scotland have not been included and figures have not been reported for Northern Ireland.
Here’s the breakdown:

• England - 117,093
  
• Scotland - no data yet
  
• Wales - 12,378
  
• Northern Ireland - no data yet
  

UK sets new record of more than 129,000 Covid cases in a day

Nicola Davis - The Guardian
Covid cases in the UK have reached a record high, with 129,471 new cases reported on Tuesday in England and Wales, as the Omicron variant continues to fuel a winter wave of infections.
While official data was not provided for Scotland and Northern Ireland, a record 117,093 cases – infections that are picked up through testing – were reported for England, up from a previous high of 113,628 on Christmas Day.
Despite the incomplete nature of the data, the total number of cases reported on Tuesday for England and Wales is higher than the previous record for the entire UK.
The UK Health Security Agency reported 17,269 additional confirmed cases of the Omicron variant across England and Northern Ireland, with the total number of confirmed cases in the UK to date at 177,201 – although such figures are a significant underestimate.
Data from NHS England released on Tuesday revealed that the number of patients in hospital had risen by more than 1,000 in the space of a day, with 9,546 beds occupied by people with Covid on Tuesday, compared with 8,474 the day before – although some trusts, thought to have about 220 Covid patients in total based on recent submissions, did not report their figures for Monday.
Tuesday’s figure is a 38% increase on that reported on 21 December and the highest since 3 March, although still far below the peak last winter of more than 34,000.

Portugal reports record Covid cases but hospitalisations remain low

Portugal reported a record 17,172 new cases today, beating the previous high of 16,432 cases in late January this year.
Despite the rise in cases, the numbers of people admitted to hospital and intensive care with Covid-19 are a fraction of the peak reached during Portugal’s winter wave. The latest data showed hospitals had 936 patients with Covid, compared with a peak of 6,869 on 1 February.
In the last 24 hours, 19 further deaths have been recorded, compared to a peak of 303 deaths reported on 28 January.
Official data showed the Omicron variant, which has fuelled a sharp rise in cases across Europe, representing 61.5% of all new cases in the country.
With around 87% of its 10 million population vaccinated and almost 2.4 million people having received a third booster jab, Portugal has one of the world’s highest Covid vaccination rates. The United Arab Emirates is the only country with a higher proportion of vaccinated people.

France reports record high of 179,807 new cases

France has reported a record high of 179,807 new confirmed cases in a 24-hour period today, by far the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
The previous record of 104,611 was set on Saturday.

Greece reports record daily high of 21,657 new cases

Greece reported a new daily record of 21,657 Covid cases today, more than double the level of the day before.
The previous record was 9,284 cases set on Monday. That figure was more than double Sunday’s figure of 4,036.
Of the new infections, 9,882 were reported in Attica and 2,665 in Thessaloniki.
A further 60 deaths were also reported, slightly down from 66 on the previous day.

Greece reports record daily high of 21,657 new cases

Greece reported a new daily record of 21,657 Covid cases today, more than double the level of the day before.
The previous record was 9,284 cases set on Monday. That figure was more than double Sunday’s figure of 4,036.
Of the new infections, 9,882 were reported in Attica and 2,665 in Thessaloniki.
A further 60 deaths were also reported, slightly down from 66 on the previous day.

The number of children being admitted into hospital in New York City has increased fivefold this month as pediatric Covid cases and hospitalisations across the US continue to rise week after week. Pediatric hospitalisations in New York City jumped from 22 to 109 in the week ending December 23.
Nationwide, pediatric hospitalisations are up 35% in just the past week, CNN reports.
“I think we are going to see more numbers now than we have ever seen,” Dr Stanley Spinner, chief medical officer and vice president at Texas Children’s Pediatrics & Urgent Care in Houston, said.
“Cases are continuing to rise between Christmas gatherings and we’re going to continue to see more numbers this week from that.”
Earlier today, New York’s acting state health commissioner said the risk of Covid for children is “real”. “We are alerting New Yorkers to this recent striking increase in pediatric Covid-19 admissions so that paediatricians, parents and guardians can take urgent action to protect our youngest New Yorkers,” she said.

In Turkey, figures by the health ministry show daily cases have exceeded 30,000 for the first time since 19 October.
Some 32,176 infections and 184 deaths were reported today. Turkey’s daily caseload has risen in recent days due to the Omicron variant, with daily infections surging by 30% on Monday.
“Bringing case numbers to the 20,000 level was a serious achievement,” Turkey’s health minister Fahrettin Koca said. “Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, it can be seen we are now entering a rising trend.”

Cyprus reports record daily high of 2,241 new cases

Cyprus has recorded its highest single-day number of cases with 2,241 infections, up from 1,925 a day before.
To date, there have been 154,926 cases reported and 630 deaths, Reuters reports.
“I think this is due to the Omicron variant, which may have arrived earlier than we thought,” said Petros Karayiannis, professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the University of Nicosia and a member of the government’s scientific advisory committee.
The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant was recorded in Cyprus on 10 December. More than 80% of residents have received two doses of a Covid vaccine.

German court rules disabled people must be protected in Covid triage cases
Kate Connolly - The Guardian
Germany’s highest court has ruled that disabled people must be protected by legally binding guidelines in case hospitals are forced to introduce a triage system as the country braces itself for a new, more infectious wave of coronavirus.
The constitutional court announced its decision on Tuesday, ordering legislators to create a legal framework that would prevent disabled people from being unfairly treated.
It urged the state to establish a set of criteria to which doctors would have to refer before deciding which patients received lifesaving treatment if intensive care units were overwhelmed and resources were exhausted.
The case was brought by a group of nine people with disabilities and pre-existing medical conditions who feared that current medical guidelines would not protect them from being overlooked or disregarded if they became seriously ill with Covid-19.

US reports single highest number of daily cases

According to data by Johns Hopkins University, the US recorded 512,553 daily new cases today – by far the single highest number of cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic. The previous record was 294,015 set on 8 January 2021.
One mitigating factor is the delay in reporting over the Christmas weekend. Many testing centres were likely closed over the holiday, meaning some test results would have been likely rolled over to Monday and today.

England braces for Welsh revellers escaping Covid restrictions
Steven Morris - The Guardian
Thousands of New Year’s Eve revellers are expected to escape strict Covid-19 restrictions in Wales by hopping across the border to visit nightspots in English towns and cities.
Leaders of the nightlife industry in Wales are angry that they will lose trade to their counterparts in England because Welsh nightclubs have been ordered to shut and pubs told to put in social distancing measures.
But the Welsh government said on Tuesday that its restrictions were proportionate, with the latest seven-day coronavirus rate per 100,000 people rising to 1,004 – the highest since the pandemic began. About 6,000 new infections are being confirmed daily, the majority caused by the Omicron variant.
Nick Newman, the chair of the Cardiff Licensees Forum, said he expected many people to leave Wales for England. “It’s 40 minutes from Newport to Bristol and it’s easy to get from north Wales into Manchester or Liverpool. English businesses are going to benefit.
“We’re hugely disappointed with the stance the Welsh government is taking, especially not presenting the evidence that links the virus to the hospitality industry.”
Mark Finlay, the operations manager for a number of pubs and bars in Wrexham, which is close to the border, said people were bound to pop over to places like Chester for a night out with few restrictions.
“It’s frustrating that a few minutes down the road you can celebrate a normal New Year’s Eve but we’re not allowed that opportunity here. For us it will be an average night serving people at tables. There won’t be the normal party atmosphere. I’m fully expecting everyone to go to Chester.”