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Covid news: Omicron detected in US; UK reports 48,374 new cases and 171 deaths – as it happened

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'Matter of time': Fauci confirms first US case of Omicron – video

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That’s it from me, Samantha Lock, reporting to you from Sydney, Australia.

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Summary

It’s been a very busy day on the Covid front as countries swiftly respond to the emergence of the Omicron variant. Here’s all the main developments:

  • Omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant of the coronavirus in South Africa less than four weeks after it was first detected there.
  • Ministers in the UK have secured new contracts to buy 114m more Covid-19 vaccines for the next two years.
  • The US will extend requirements for travellers to wear masks on aeroplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through mid-March.
  • Greek lawmakers approved legislation making vaccination for Covid mandatory for all residents aged over 60. Some 17% of Greeks aged over 60 have not yet been vaccinated. They have until 16 January to get their first jabs, or will be fined 100 euros for every month they remain unvaccinated.
  • The United Arab Emirates announced its first known case of the new Covid variant Omicron.
  • Moderna could have a Covid booster shot targeting the Omicron variant tested and ready to file for US authorisation as soon as March, the company’s president said.
  • The EU must consider mandatory vaccination, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. One-third of Europe’s 150-million population are not vaccinated.
  • The US reports its first Omicron case identified in California and discovered in a traveler who returned from South Africa on 22 November and tested positive on 29 November.
  • The World Health Organization urged countries to prioritise getting the unvaccinated vaccinated, both nationally and globally, rather than boosters.
  • The UN condemned the travel bans implemented in response to Omicron as “unfair, punitive and ineffective”.

Omicron variant rapidly dominating in South Africa

Omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant of the coronavirus in South Africa less than four weeks after it was first detected there, Reuters reports.

Early indications suggest Omicron may be markedly more contagious than previous variants.

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said early epidemiological data suggested Omicron was able to evade some immunity, but existing vaccines should still protect against severe disease and death.

It said 74% of all the virus genomes it had sequenced last month had been of the new variant, which was first found in a sample taken on Nov. 8 in Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province.

The number of new cases reported in South Africa doubled from Tuesday to Wednesday.

World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove told a briefing that data on how contagious Omicron was should be available “within days.”

Hello everyone, it’s Samantha Lock here taking over from my colleague Tom Ambrose and ready to take you through all the Covid news this Thursday.

Let’s dive in with a snap shot of the Covid situation in Australia, where I will be reporting to you from today.

Andrew Gregory

Ministers in the UK have secured new contracts to buy 114m more Covid-19 vaccines for the next two years.

The deals, for 2022 and 2023, were accelerated after the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, officials said. Under the agreements, the UK will buy 54m more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 60m more doses from Moderna.

These purchases are in addition to the 35m extra Pfizer/BioNTech doses ordered in August for delivery in the second half of 2022, officials said. The UK is also still expecting 60m Novavax and 7.5m GSK/Sanofi doses in 2022.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the new deals would “future proof” the UK’s vaccine programme and ensure protection for “even more people in the years ahead”.

There remains uncertainty about further health programmes. Some experts have warned that Covid-19 will have to be kept at bay by repeated vaccine campaigns, while others have said it is too early to tell whether annual vaccine boosters will be needed.

President Joe Biden’s administration will extend requirements for travellers to wear masks on aeroplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through mid-March to address ongoing Covid risks, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.

A formal announcement extending the requirements until 18 March is expected on Thursday, the sources said.

The White House and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) declined to comment.

TSA in August extended the transportation mask order that runs until 18 January.

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In the United States, New York City’s troubled jail system is facing more turmoil with the suspension of hundreds of corrections officers for failing to meet a Tuesday night deadline to get vaccinated against Covid.

The city’s Department of Correction reported 77% of its uniformed staff had gotten at least one vaccine dose as of 5pm on Monday.

The Associated Press reported:

Corrections Department Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said Wednesday morning that about 700 jail workers who’ve applied for religious or medical exemptions can continue to work while their cases are reviewed.

City Hall officials said Wednesday afternoon that 570 workers could be put on leave without pay for failing to comply with the mandate, but they would not know the precise number until those corrections officers show up for scheduled shifts and do not show proof of vaccination.

The deadline for jail workers to be vaccinated was delayed a month because of existing staffing shortages.

Workers who haven’t applied for an exemption and who failed to show proof of vaccination by 5pm Tuesday were to be placed on unpaid leave and surrender any city-issued firearms and protective gear, officials said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who already imposed similar mandates for other city workers, said he expects the vaccination rate to rise as workers begin missing paychecks or their requests for an exemption are denied.

“I expect those numbers to up in a very substantial way in the days ahead,” de Blasio told reporters at a virtual news conference on Wednesday.

Brazil records 283 more Covid deaths

Brazil registered 283 Covid deaths on Wednesday and 11,413 additional cases, according to data released by the nation’s Health Ministry.

The South American country has now registered a total of 614,964 total coronavirus deaths and 22,105,872 total confirmed cases.

Greek lawmakers have approved legislation making vaccination for Covid mandatory for all residents aged over 60, to deal with an infection surge and the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The draft law backed by the centre-right government and a centre-left opposition party — but rejected by all other opposition parties — targets the country’s age group that is most vulnerable to death or intubation from the coronavirus.

Some 17% of Greeks aged over 60 have not yet been vaccinated. They have until Jan. 16 to get their first jabs, or will be fined 100 euros for every month they remain unvaccinated.

Parties that opposed the measure said it was too harsh on low-income people who don’t want to be inoculated.

The United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday its first known case of the new Covid variant Omicron, state news agency WAM reported.

The variant was detected in an African woman who had travelled from an African country and transited through an Arab country, WAM said. The woman had received both doses of the Covid vaccine.

Public health authorities have placed her in isolation, as well as those who were in contact with her, WAM reported.

The UAE is the second Gulf country to detect a case of the new variant, after Saudi Arabia announced its first case earlier on Wednesday.

Moderna could have Omicron vaccine ready by March

Moderna could have a Covid booster shot targeting the Omicron variant tested and ready to file for US authorisation as soon as March, the company’s president said on Wednesday.

Moderna President Stephen Hoge said he believes booster shots carrying genes specifically targeting mutations in the newly-discovered Omicron variant would be the quickest way to address any anticipated reductions in vaccine efficacy it may cause.

“We’ve already started that program,” he told Reuters.

The company is also working on a multi-valent vaccine that would include up to four different coronavirus variants including Omicron.

That could take several more months, he said.

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