with the Omicron variant which is sweeping the world, Washington mobilized on Tuesday, betting on tests and vaccines, while in Germany the new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, tightened restrictions as the holidays approach, to the like what has been decided in many other European countries.
Omicron is spreading at lightning speed across the planet. In the United States, it accounted for 73.2% of new COVID-19 infections during the week ended December 18, with peaks of 95% in some northwestern states, officials said.
In this context, Joe Biden must announce on Tuesday new measures in the country most bereaved by the pandemic, with more than 807,000 dead.
The White House detailed the strategy of the US president on Tuesday: tests, strengthened vaccination capacities and additional resources for hospitals, but no new restrictions before Christmas. Long lines stretched outside testing centers across the United States. "It is not necessary to confine our schools, nor our economy," assured a senior White House official.
The authorities will distribute 500 million tests free of charge and mobilize a thousand doctors, nurses and medical personnel in the army.
The United States will also give more than half a billion dollars in additional aid to international organizations to fight COVID-19 in the face of the Omicron outbreak.
In Denmark too, this variant is now dominant. The country of 5.8 million people has recorded 13,558 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, an all-time high.
Restrictions in Germany
In Germany, the new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, announced on Tuesday evening, after a crisis meeting with representatives of the country's 16 regions, that from December 28 a maximum of ten guests vaccinated - or two unvaccinated - were authorized for the Holidays and that “major interregional events”, including sports competitions, would be without an audience.
Unlike neighboring Netherlands, it will not close shops deemed non-essential, cinemas or restaurants, considering it sufficient to reserve them for people who have been vaccinated or cured.
No measures of this type planned either in France, where about 20% of new cases of COVID-19 now fall under Omicron, which represented only 10% of contaminations at the end of last week, according to the government spokesperson. , Gabriel Attal. The incidence rate of COVID-19 reached "once again a record" in France, or 537 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, he said.
In the United Kingdom, which is among the most severely affected countries (more than 90,000 contaminations per day), the government on Tuesday released a billion pounds for companies suffering the consequences of Omicron, while absences for COVID- 19 are disrupting the entire UK economy.
Labor mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced Monday the cancellation of the festivities planned in the British capital for the New Year, as did Morocco, which also instituted a curfew between midnight and 6 a.m.
Scotland followed suit on Tuesday, canceling its festivities and also tightening its health restrictions.
Because of Omicron, Portugal will also strengthen its systems from next week (compulsory teleworking, bars and nightclubs closed), like Sweden from Thursday (telework, expanded vaccination passport, etc.).
2022 target
To protect oneself, it is necessary "in certain cases to cancel an event", advised Monday the boss of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, because "a canceled event is better than a life of less" .
It is possible, he said, to end the pandemic next year "by ensuring that 70% of the population of every country is vaccinated" by mid-2022.
According to World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan, early data from South Africa shows Omicron-related hospitalizations remain lower than in previous waves due to Delta.
The WHO urgently approved a new vaccine against COVID-19 on Tuesday, that of the American company Novavax - the tenth that it thus approves -, with more classic technology and different from vaccines already widely used in the EU .
In Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, authorities have called for "strict" compliance with health rules during the holidays, in view of "a 500% increase in the number of confirmed cases in the past two weeks across the country. countries because of the Delta and Omicron variants ”.
In response to the Omicron surge, Israel on Tuesday added the United States and several other countries to its red list of some 50 states to which travel is prohibited. Thailand has reinstated quarantine for all travelers.
The pandemic has killed at least 5.35 million people worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP on Tuesday, without doubt much lower than reality.
Since then, the epidemic has been practically eradicated in China thanks to drastic measures, but the large city of Xi'an (north) began Tuesday to screen all of its 13 million inhabitants after the detection of quarantine of cases.