Europe was put in order of battle on Wednesday, two days before Christmas, in the face of the surge of the Omicron variant, while in China the 13 million inhabitants of the city of Xi’an were now confined due to a rebound in the epidemic.
France, which is betting on an acceleration of vaccination rather than restrictions, launched its campaign for children on Wednesday. Finland is preparing to do the same, after several other European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Spain and Portugal.
The highly contagious Omicron variant is spreading “at a very rapid rate” in France and it could become the majority between Christmas and New Years, the government spokesman said. The number of contaminations could exceed 100,000 per day in the country by the end of the month, warned the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
The French Minister of Labor, Élisabeth Borne, called on companies to “accelerate” the use of telework, asking them to aim for three “minimum” days per week, or even four days.
The new variant, detected in South Africa and Botswana in November, is spreading at lightning speed across the European continent. “Omicron is becoming, or has already become, dominant in several countries, including Denmark, Portugal and the UK, where the numbers are doubling every one and a half to three days, resulting in unprecedented rates of transmission. Said the Dr Hans Kluge, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe.
A metropolis confined to China
The British government on Wednesday reduced the isolation period in England from ten to seven days for vaccinated people who contracted the coronavirus, amid the surge in Omicron cases. This will allow more people to spend Christmas with their families, according to the government, without risking transmitting the virus.
In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Tuesday that contact, even between vaccinated people, would be limited to a maximum of ten guests for the New Year’s holidays.
The Omicron variant is already largely dominant (73% of new infections) in the United States. The country is however “ready”, assured Tuesday the president, Joe Biden, repeating that there was no reason to “panic”.
Clinical data from recent weeks suggests that Omicron is no more dangerous than previous variants, including Delta. But scientists warn of an optical effect. Because Omicron is much more contagious, the consequences could be serious on a collective level, the outbreak of contaminations automatically leading to an increase in the number of hospitalized patients – especially fragile or unvaccinated people – and ultimately more deaths.
In Turkey, the Turkovac vaccine received an “emergency” authorization, the Minister of Health announced on Wednesday.
In China, the 13 million inhabitants of the metropolis of Xi’an (north), known for its army buried in terracotta, are now confined to contain an outbreak of COVID-19, local authorities announced on Wednesday. Xi’an residents must “stay at home, unless there is a compelling reason,” authorities said, adding that one person per household is allowed to go out shopping “every two days”.
Xi’an residents have until now required permission to take the train and leave the city.
China, where COVID-19 appeared two years ago, has been pursuing a “zero COVID” strategy since last year which consists of doing everything to limit the occurrence of new cases as much as possible, generally limited to a few dozen per day only.
In Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Tuesday that all Israelis over 60 and medical staff would be entitled to a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, after consultation with a panel of experts.
The statements come at a time when Israel is struggling to contain the spread of the Omicron variant, decreeing travel bans and other restrictions without going so far as to lock itself in.
The pandemic has killed at least 5,368,777 million people worldwide since the end of 2019, according to an AFP report from official sources on Wednesday. Europe currently has the most cases, with 2,870,947 cases in the past seven days (60% of the global total), followed by the United States – Canada area (1,108,580 cases, or 23% of the global rate).