U.S. Finds Mild Omicron Cases; N.Y. Orders Masks: Virus Update
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(Bloomberg) -- Most of the U.S. Covid-19 cases traced to the omicron variant so far have been mild illnesses in people who were vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Friday.
After months of warnings that vaccinations would ward off a Covid-19 disaster, the U.S. is hurtling toward a holiday crisis. New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered all businesses to require masks indoors if they don’t have a vaccine requirement.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 269 million; deaths approach 5.3 million
- Omicron propels U.S. booster drive where it’s needed least
- What we know about omicron: QuickTake
- World rushes to boost against omicron, but questions remain
- BI’s Sam Fazeli on the effectiveness of vaccine boosters against omicron
U.S. Weighs Travel With Southern Africa (4:50 p.m. NY)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing analytical models to determine when reopening travel from eight southern African countries would no longer impact the spread of the omicron variant in the U.S., with an eye toward lifting controversial restrictions implemented last month, the White House said Friday.
“What we are doing currently, right now is looking at the evidence that would get us to pull back,” Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, told reporters in a virtual briefing. The CDC is studying “the risk of increased influx of individuals who are infected, balanced against the already existing infection in our own country.”
The U.S. hopes to have the models completed within the next few days to a week, he said. The travel bans have been decried by international medical officials who say they could discourage countries from reporting new variants, and other critics have said the rules unfairly target majority Black countries. But the White House has said the restrictions are temporary and intended to buy time for scientists to study the variant and implement new mitigation steps.
Pennsylvania School Mask Order Struck Down (4:24 p.m. NY)
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a statewide mask mandate inside schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. The court ruled that the acting health secretary who issued the order did not have the legal authority to do so, the Associated Press reported.
Pennsylvania is battling the biggest surge in infections in almost a year.
North Carolina Reports Omicron Case (3:50 p.m. NY)
The University of North Carolina reported state’s first case of the omicron variant in a student at its Charlotte campus. The student traveled out of state over Thanksgiving and has recovered, the university said in a statement. Mecklenburg County Public Health said the student had only one known contact.
At least 25 U.S. states have reported cases of the new variant.
Ontario Expands Booster Eligibility (2:22 p.m. NY)
The Ontario government said it is expanding booster eligibility to people 18 and over as of Jan. 4, with appointments scheduled for about six months after their second dose, according to a statement.
Italy, Portugal, Switzerland to Vaccinate Kids (1:17 p.m. NY)
Italy will start vaccinating children aged 5-11 starting Dec. 16, and Portugal will begin on Dec. 18. Both countries will give priority to children who are medically vulnerable. Switzerland didn’t give a date for expanding vaccinations.
Danish Omicron Surge Warning to Europe (1:10 p.m. NY)
Denmark is seeing the number of people infected with the omicron variant of Covid-19 double every second day, offering a glimpse of a development that is probably unfolding throughout Europe.
The Nordic country can offer valuable insights into what to expect from omicron, as it has Europe’s most rigorous screening program, with a high level of testing, and variant-screening of all positive PCR tests. That explains why Denmark has reported the highest number of omicron cases in the European Union, Troels Lillebaek, chair of the Danish SARS-CoV-2 variant assessment committee, said.
“Denmark is not a hotspot for omicron compared with any other European country,” Lillebaek said in an interview on Friday. “I’m quite sure that what we are seeing now in Denmark is also happening in neighboring countries, and in other European countries.”
Denmark has now recorded more than 1,000 cases of the omicron variant after a 60% jump in one day.
U.S. Finds Omicron Cases Mild So Far (1 p.m. NY)
Most of the U.S. Covid-19 cases traced to the omicron variant so far have been mild illnesses in people who were vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Friday.
In the first 43 cases investigated, 34 occurred in people who were fully vaccinated, the CDC said, including some who had gotten booster shots. Most reported mild symptoms. One vaccinated patient was hospitalized for two days. There were no deaths.
“As with all variants, a lag exists between infection and more severe outcomes, and symptoms would be expected to be milder in vaccinated persons,” CDC researchers wrote in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Omicron Set to Dominate in U.K. (12:19 p.m. NY)
Covid vaccine boosters improve protection to as much as 75% against the rapidly spreading omicron variant, based on preliminary U.K. data.
An early study of vaccine effectiveness showed that the shots from AstraZeneca Plc and the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE partnership provided much lower defenses against symptomatic infection with omicron, compared with the delta strain, after two doses. A booster lifted protection to 70% to 75% in the early days after the shot.
U.K. health officials expect omicron to become the dominant variant by the middle of December. New evidence shows that the strain is growing much faster than delta in England.
The U.K. reported 58,000 new cases on Friday, the highest number since Jan. 9. The omicron variant was identified in 448 of the cases, compared to 249 the day before. Hospital numbers stood roughly steady.
Waste Shows Omicron Dominant in Capetown (10:58 a.m. NY)
Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus variant in Cape Town, the South African Medical Research Council said, citing wastewater analyses.
The variant was found in 11 of 12 wastewater samples collected in Cape Town on Nov. 30, the council said in a statement on Friday. The delta variant was only dominant at one wastewater plant in the city, it said.
Covid Crisis Threatens U.S. Holidays (10:40 a.m. NY)
After months of warnings that vaccinations would ward off a Covid-19 disaster, the U.S. is sailing toward a holiday crisis.
Cases and hospital admissions are rising amid a season of family gatherings. Most victims have shunned inoculations. The situation is especially dire in the chilly Northeastern states, but doctors in many places report a grimly repetitive cycle of admission, intensive care and death. There are shortages of beds and staff to care for the suffering.
“We’re in desperate shape,” said Brian Weis, chief medical officer at Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo, the state’s worst hot spot.
Minks in Finland Can Be Vaccinated (10:37 a.m. NY)
Finland gave a special, temporary authorization to a coronavirus vaccine for minks produced by Zoetis Inc. and VMRD Inc. in a bid to inoculate the animals and protect its fur farmers.
The announcement comes just two months after the industry decided to organize an inoculation program using a domestically developed jab, the first such program in the European Union. Minks are known to be particularly susceptible to the virus.
N.Y. Requires Masks Indoors in Public (10:27 a.m. NY)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered all businesses to require masks indoors if they don’t have a Covid-19 vaccine requirement.
“We’re entering a time of uncertainty and we could either plateau here or our cases could escalate beyond control,” Hochul said in a briefing. “We’re heading upward in a direction that I find is no longer sustainable.”
Swiss Weigh Further Pandemic Steps (9:07 a.m. NY)
Switzerland is considering new measures, including closing indoor restaurants and fitness centers as well as mandating people to work from home, as it seeks to counter a surge in new infections.
The government will be discussing two options. One would limit entry to restaurants and museums and other public indoor venues to those who’ve been inoculated or have recovered from the virus.
The other option would effectively be a partial lockdown, closing restaurants for indoor dining, gyms and discos. The next decision will be made Dec. 14.
Europe Surge May Be Leveling Off (6:42 a.m. NY)
Europe’s infection surge appears to be leveling off after governments across the continent clamped down with another round of tough measures, including lockdowns and restrictions on the unvaccinated.
While the trend varies across countries, overall European Union numbers look to have hit a plateau. Austria and Germany have seen a dramatic shift, with the former’s seven-day case rate plunging by more than half since late last month.
H.K. to Tighten Quarantine for U.S. Travelers (5:47 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong residents returning from the U.S. will be required to spend their first seven days of quarantine at the government’s Penny’s Bay center.
They would then be transferred to serve their remaining 14 days of compulsory quarantine at designated hotels the travelers had already reserved, according to a statement. U.S. arrivals were already subject to three weeks of quarantine, all of it served in hotels.
HSBC, JPMorgan London Staff to Stay Home (5:30 p.m. HK)
HSBC told U.K. employees on Thursday afternoon they should return to home-working where possible, according to a spokesperson.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. told staff in an internal memo Thursday that it is reassessing “who needs to be coming into the office and who should revert to working from home on a more regular basis.”
Deutsche Bank is significantly reducing the number of staff working in the office from Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Heathrow Offers Bleak Passenger Outlook (4:29 p.m. HK)
London’s Heathrow airport said passenger numbers are likely to recover to barely half of pre-Covid levels next year as the pandemic continues to ravage long-haul travel markets.
The number of travelers in 2022 is likely to reach 45 million, Heathrow said in a statement Friday. That compares with a record 81 million in 2019.
S. Africa Sees Hospitalization ‘Disconnect’ (2:40 p.m. HK)
South Africa is seeing a “disconnect” between the number of infections and hospital admissions in the current infection wave, according to Michelle Groome, the head of health surveillance for the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
As the omicron variant has taken hold there has been a slight increase in deaths, she said on an online press conference on Friday. This differs from earlier waves when the number of infections and hospital admissions rose in tandem, she said.
Meanwhile, the country will offer booster shots as it races to control a surge in infections caused by the omicron variant.
Danske Staff to Work From Home (2:17 pm. HK)
Danske Bank staff will be working from home through Jan 4. after the government announced new Covid-19 restrictions and urged businesses to work virtually if possible, Danske tells newspaper Borsen.
Clients will “to the greatest extent possible be met with digital meetings, while physical locations will remain open to a limited capacity,” the lender said in a written response to Borsen.
South Africa Neighbors Brace for Spike (12 p.m. HK)
While many countries banned travelers from southern Africa after the new strain was first identified there two weeks ago, its governments have denounced the restrictions and have largely kept borders open. Lines of vehicles can stretch for several miles as workers at South African mines and construction sites journey home, adding to the already heavy stream of travelers.
South Africa’s neighbors are bracing for a flood of returning workers over the December holidays, threatening to accelerate the spread of the omicron variant that’s already ignited a fourth wave of infections in the region.
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