The total number of COVID-19 cases registered worldwide on Friday passed 300 million, with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2’s rapid spread setting new infection records in dozens of countries over the past week.
Thirty-four countries have in the past seven days recorded their highest number of weekly cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, including 18 nations in Europe and seven in Africa, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official figures.
While far more contagious than previous variants, Omicron appears to cause less severe illness than its predecessors.
Photo: AFP
Even as it spurred the world to a record 13.5 million cases in the past week alone — 64 percent higher than the previous seven days — the global average of deaths dropped 3 percent.
France’s public health authority on Friday said that the risk of hospitalization was about 70 percent lower for Omicron, citing data from Canada, Israel, the UK and the US.
However with a global average of 2 million new cases being detected daily, experts have said that that the sheer numbers threaten to overwhelm health systems.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Omicron should not be categorized as mild, as it “is hospitalizing people and it is killing people.”
“In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick, that it is overwhelming health systems around the world,” he said.
Omicron’s dizzying spread since being detected six weeks ago has prompted many nations to push harder for more vaccinations and some to clamp down with restrictions.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that access to the country’s bars and restaurants would be limited to those who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the virus and can also provide a negative test result.
However, people who have received a booster shot would be exempted from the test requirement.
In Austria, Chancellor Karl Nehammer tested positive for COVID-19.
“No cause for worry, I’m fine,” he said. “I continue to plead: Get vaccinated.”
As cases skyrocket in the US — which also broke its daily caseload record this week — US President Joe Biden said that COVID-19 “as we are dealing with it now is not here to stay ... but having COVID in the environment — here and in the world — is probably here to stay.”
In India, Omicron-led rising case numbers have brought fears of a return to the country’s darkest pandemic days last year, when thousands were dying of COVID-19 every day.
Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at India’s Ashoka University who has worked on COVID-19 infection modeling, said that “this could potentially stress out healthcare systems to levels comparable to or worse than the second wave.”
However, Kolkata’s High Court rejected a bid to cancel a major Hindu festival, despite fears the virus could spread rapidly among the 500,000 expected attendees.
“People from all states in the country will attend the religious festival and take a holy dip,” environmentalist Subhash Dutta said. “They may carry variant viruses and this religious festival may end up being the biggest superspreader in the coming days.”
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan
ENHANCE DETERRENCE: Taiwan has to display ‘fierce resolve’ to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains, Koo said Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday. His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.” Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese
The zero emissions ship Porrima P111 was launched yesterday in Kaohsiung, showcasing the nation’s advancement in green technology, city Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. The nation last year acquired the Swiss-owned vessel, formerly known as Turanor PlanetSolar, in a bid to boost Taiwan’s technology sector, as well as ecotourism in Palau, Chen said at the ship’s launch ceremony at Singda Harbor. Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also attended the event. The original vessel was the first solar-powered ship to circumnavigate the globe in a voyage from 2010 to 2012. Taiwan-based Porrima Inc (保利馬) installed upgrades with
RSS