Coronavirus information reside: South Africa sees ‘exponential enhance’ in Covid instances, dominated by Omicron variant | World information

The closely mutated Omicron variant has propelled a pointy rise in Covid instances in South Africa as well being consultants describe the diploma of enhance as “worrying”.

The variant now accounts for 74% of all of the virus genomes sequenced within the nation final month after it was first present in a pattern taken on 8 November in Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province.

Covid instances have risen from a weekly common of round 300 new instances per day to 1,000 final week and most not too long ago to three,500. A complete of 8,561 new instances have been reported on Wednesday alone – double the variety of new instances recorded the day earlier than, in accordance with knowledge from the Nationwide Institute for Communicable Illnesses (NICD).

Dr Michelle Groome, head of the NICD, mentioned the rise was “exponential” including that the “quickly rising variety of new every day instances” was “fuelled by the variant” referred to as Omicron, Agence France-Presse studies.

South Africa’s Nationwide Institute for Communicable Illnesses (NICD) mentioned early epidemiological knowledge urged Omicron was in a position to evade some immunity, however current vaccines ought to nonetheless defend in opposition to extreme illness and dying.

World Well being Group (WHO) epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove instructed a briefing that knowledge on how contagious Omicron was must be accessible “inside days.”

Good day everybody, it’s Samantha Lock right here, able to take you thru all of the Covid information this Thursday.

It’s been a really busy few days on the Covid entrance as nations swiftly reply to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Let’s begin with the information that the Omicron variant has propelled a pointy rise in Covid instances in South Africa as well being consultants describe the diploma of enhance as “worrying”.

Covid instances have risen from a weekly common of round 300 new instances per day to 1,000 final week and most not too long ago to three,500. A complete of 8,561 new instances have been reported on Wednesday alone, in accordance with knowledge from the Nationwide Institute for Communicable Illnesses (NICD).

Dr Michelle Groome, head of the NICD, mentioned the rise was “exponential” including that the “quickly rising variety of new every day instances” was “fuelled by the variant” referred to as Omicron.

Right here’s a fast rundown of the whole lot you might need missed over the previous 24 hours.

• The US reported its first Omicron case recognized in California and found in a traveller who returned from South Africa on 22 November and examined optimistic on 29 November.
• The World Well being Group has urged nations to prioritise getting the unvaccinated vaccinated, each nationally and globally, reasonably than boosters.
• Ministers within the UK have secured new contracts to purchase 114m extra Covid-19 vaccines for the subsequent two years.
• The US will lengthen necessities for travellers to put on masks on aeroplanes, trains and buses and at airports and prepare stations by way of mid-March.
• Greek lawmakers permitted laws making vaccination for Covid obligatory for all residents aged over 60. Some 17% of Greeks aged over 60 haven’t but been vaccinated. They’ve till 16 January to get their first jabs, or might be fined 100 euros for each month they continue to be unvaccinated.
• The United Arab Emirates introduced its first recognized case of the brand new Covid variant Omicron.
• Moderna may have a Covid booster shot concentrating on the Omicron variant examined and able to file for US authorisation as quickly as March, the corporate’s president mentioned.
• The EU should think about obligatory vaccination, European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen mentioned. One-third of Europe’s 150-million inhabitants should not vaccinated.
• The UN condemned the journey bans carried out in response to Omicron as “unfair, punitive and ineffective”.