3rd Dec 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=553 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

iNews The UK has reported a further 53945 daily Covid infections with cases passing the 50000 mark for the second time in the last seven days and reaching the highest daily total since midOctober. A further 45880 people in England tested positive in the last 24hour period while 3002 cases were recorded in Scotland 2791 in Wales and 2272 in Northern Ireland. It marks the highest number of daily infections since 18 October when there were 56710 daily cases amid concerns that the UK could see a surge in infections this winter. https://inews.co.uk/news/uk-covid-cases-soar-past-50000-for-a-second-time-in-seven-days-as-numbers-reach-the-highest-since-october-1332331?ito=social_itw_theipaper 3rd Dec 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters As New Zealand prepares to ease its COVID19 pandemic controls and global isolation after nearly two years health risks for its undervaccinated indigenous Maori are posing a challenge for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Some of the worlds toughest pandemic measures enforced by the South Pacific nation are easing on Friday with businesses reopening nationwide after Arderns government abandoned its elimination strategy in the face of the contagious Delta variant. Domestic border curbs in the pandemic epicentre Auckland are due to end midDecember and international borders restrictions will loosen progressively from January. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealands-covid-19-re-opening-plans-leave-maori-feeling-exposed-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters COVID19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna that use mRNA technology provide the biggest boost to antibody levels when given 1012 weeks after the second dose a British study published on Thursday has found. The COVBoost study was cited by British officials when they announced that Pfizer and Moderna were preferred for use in the countrys booster campaign but the data has only been made publicly available now. The study found that six out of the seven boosters examined enhanced immunity after initial vaccination with PfizerBioNTechs vaccine while all seven increased immunity when given after two doses of AstraZenecas AZN.L vaccine. A third dose will be effective for many of the vaccines weve tested and in many different combinations Professor Saul Faust an immunologist at the University of Southampton and the trials lead told reporters. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/uk-study-finds-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-provide-biggest-booster-impact-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Children in Finland aged five and over should be vaccinated against COVID19 if theyor someone in their household are at high risk of severe infection the Finnish Health Institute recommended on Thursday opting against shots for all children. The government is expected to accept the recommendation. The institute said the vaccinations could start as soon as Finland obtains approved shots. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/finland-limit-childrens-covid-19-vaccines-high-risk-households-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian Vaccination could become mandatory in Germany from February Angela Merkel has said as she announced what her successor as chancellor Olaf Scholz described as a lockdown of the unvaccinated. As more EU countries confirmed cases of the Omicron variant which the blocs health agency said could make up more than half of all infections on the continent within months Merkel described the situation as very serious. Meeting with Scholz and Germanys 16 state leaders for emergency talks on Thursday on tougher measures to stem rocketing Covid cases the outgoing chancellor said an act of national solidarity was required. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/02/germany-could-make-covid-vaccination-mandatory-says-merkel 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

The Independent President Joe Biden is set to kick off a more urgent campaign for Americans to get COVID19 booster shots Thursday as he unveils his winter plans for combating the coronavirus and its omicron variant with enhanced availability of shots and vaccines but without major new restrictions. The plan includes a requirement for private insurers to cover the cost of athome COVID19 tests and a tightening of testing requirements for people entering the U.S. regardless of their vaccination status. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-biden-americans-white-house-washington-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-b1968356.html 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Canadas plan to require novel coronavirus tests for all but U.S. arrivals on international flights risks causing chaos and long lines if all passengers are expected to get tested at airports industry groups said. The move announced Tuesday comes as the travel season kicks into gear and could stretch airport resources as well as testing holidaymakers patience they said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-airports-warn-chaos-amid-new-covid-19-testing-rules-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his strategy to fight the Omicron and Delta coronavirus variants over the winter including free and insurerfunded athome COVID19 testing and new requirements for international travelers. The U.S. government will require private health insurers to reimburse their 150 million customers for 100 of the cost of overthecounter athome COVID19 tests administration officials said and make 50 million more tests available free through rural clinics and health centers for the uninsured. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-require-private-health-insurance-companies-cover-at-home-covid-19-tests-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Germany on Thursday imposed restrictions on the unvaccinated as it sought to break a dramatic surge in daily coronavirus infections exacerbated by the discovery of the Omicron strain. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz agreed with leaders of Germanys 16 states to bar the unvaccinated from access to all but the most essential businesses such as grocery stores pharmacies and bakeries. They also agreed to pass legislation in the national parliament to make vaccination mandatory. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-impose-restrictions-unvaccinated-break-covid-surge-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that travel restrictions imposed over COVID19 that isolate any one country or region as not only deeply unfair and punitive they are ineffective. Speaking to reporters in New York Guterres said the only way to reduce the risk of transmission while allowing for travel and economic engagement was to repeatedly test travelers together with other appropriate and truly effective measures. https://www.reuters.com/world/un-chief-slams-covid-19-travel-apartheid-unacceptable-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Dutch health authorities on Thursday said most of the 62 people who tested positive for COVID19 after arriving on two flights from South Africa last week had been vaccinated lending weight to a call for preflight testing regardless of vaccination status. In addition all 14 passengers who were later found to have been infected with the Omicron variant were vaccinated health officials said on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dutch-covid-19-quarantine-ends-most-safrica-passengers-authorities-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Britain said on Wednesday it had agreed deals to buy 114 million more PfizerBioNTech and Moderna COVID19 vaccine shots saying it had sped up signing the new contracts in light of the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The deal involves an additional 60 million Moderna shots and 54 million Pfizer doses for next year and 2023 and will also include access to any modified vaccinations if they are needed to combat the Omicron strain or any other variant the British health ministry said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/uk-agrees-deals-114-million-more-moderna-pfizer-covid-19-doses-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Italys medicines agency AIFA on Wednesday gave the goahead for the use of PfizerBioNTechs COVID19 vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11. AIFAs decision which was widely expected came after the European Unions drug regulator EMA took the same step on Nov. 25. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-approves-covid-19-vaccination-5-11-year-olds-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

Aljazeera Pakistans government will step up COVID19 vaccination efforts and is expanding the criteria for vaccine booster shots amid fears of the Omicron variant authorities say. On Wednesday the leadership of the National Command and Operation Centre NCOC which is heading the countrys COVID19 response efforts held a meeting in the capital Islamabad to review steps to curb the spread of the virus. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/2/pakistan-expands-covid-vaccination-drive-amid-omicron-fears 2nd Dec 2021

Exit Strategies

STAT News President Biden will announce a new plan Thursday afternoon for combating the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The plan includes a new campaign to increase uptake of booster shots new policies meant to provide Americans with free athome coronavirus tests and more stringent policies on international travel. Public health officials still dont know much about the Omicron variant including whether it causes milder symptoms than other forms of the coronavirus or whether it is more transmissible than other variants. The first case of the Omicron variant detected in the United States was announced by U.S. health officials on Wednesday. https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/02/757561/ 2nd Dec 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc said on Wednesday it had removed accounts used by an influence operation originating in China that promoted claims of a fake Swiss biologist saying the United States was interfering in the search for COVID19s origins. Meta said in a report the social media campaign was largely unsuccessful and targeted Englishspeaking audiences in the United States and Britain and Chinesespeaking audiences in Taiwan Hong Kong and Tibet. https://www.reuters.com/technology/facebook-instagram-remove-chinese-network-over-fake-swiss-biologist-covid-claims-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Bristol Myers Squibb Co was sued on Wednesday by four employees who said the drugmaker refused to grant them religious exemptions from its COVID19 vaccination requirement and threatened to fire them on Dec. 6 for remaining unvaccinated. The plaintiffs in the proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court accused Bristol Myers of violating a federal civil rights law known as Title VII by systematically manufacturing reasons to refuse religious accommodations. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bristol-myers-is-sued-refusing-covid-19-vaccine-religious-exemptions-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Partisan Exits

STAT News Before the Sixth Circuit was randomly chosen for this task the New Orleansbased Fifth Circuit preemptively put a hold on the mandate issuing an opinion that bitingly characterized OSHAs emergency temporary standard as staggeringly overbroad. But the Fifth Circuits opinion got the underlying science completely wrong. For that reason alone the Sixth Circuit needs to reverse the Fifths order and start over with a clean slate that accurately encompasses the scientific evidence on the transmission of SARSCoV2 the virus that causes Covid19 the health consequences of the virus and the prevention of Covid19. https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/02/fifth-circuit-court-got-science-wrong-on-osha-vaccination-mandate/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Pharmaceutical Technology The Italian Medicines Agency AIFA has approved the use of the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid19 vaccine Comirnaty for children aged five to 11 years. The Covid19 vaccine is approved to be administered in two doses at a gap of three weeks. The dosage for this age group is indicated to be a third of the authorised 30g dose given to adults and adolescents. AIFAs Technical Scientific Commission CTS noted that the vaccine showed a high efficacy level with no warning signals highlighted in terms of safety according to the data submitted by the companies. The CTS stated that although SARSCoV2 infection is certainly more benign in children in some cases it can be associated with serious consequences such as the risk of developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome MISc which may also require hospitalisation in intensive care. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/italy-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-children/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

iNews The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has authorised the drug for use in people with mild to moderate Covid19 symptoms but who are at a higher risk of developing severe disease. Work will now be done to see if the drug will be effective against the new Omicron strain https://inews.co.uk/news/health/new-covid-19-drug-could-be-effective-against-omicron-variant-approved-by-regulators-1331045?ITO=msn 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Scientists led by a team from Arizona State University and Cardiff University worked with AstraZeneca to investigate the causes of thrombosis with vaccineinduced immune thrombocytopenia VITT. TTS which involves the formation of blood clots is a lifethreatening condition seen in a very small number of people after receiving the OxfordAstraZeneca or Johnson Johnson vaccines. The scientists say they now believe they have identified how a protein in the blood is attracted to a key component of the vaccine. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-trigger-behind-extremely-rare-astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clots-may-have-been-discovered-12484255 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian People should not assume that Covid will evolve to become a milder disease a senior scientist has warned adding that the threat posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant will not be clear until the end of December. Prof Neil Ferguson head of the disease outbreak analysis and modelling group at Imperial College London told MPs on Wednesday that while evolution would drive Covid to spread more easily the virus might not become less dangerous. Most of the transmission has already happened by the time people get hospitalised Ferguson told the Commons science and technology committee. The virus cares about replicating very fast within the respiratory tract and getting out into the environment. If that happens to kill somebody 10 days later the virus really doesnt care. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/01/covid-19-variants-omicron-may-not-evolve-less-danger-time-nervtag-uk 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Pfizer Inc said it had started the realtime submission of its application seeking Health Canadas approval of its oral COVID19 antiviral drug candidate. The pill PF07321332 is designed to block a key enzyme needed for the coronavirus to multiply. The move comes after the Canadian government announced that it was in advanced talks with Pfizer and Merck Co Inc regarding a purchase agreement for their COVID19 antiviral drugs as the country attempts to control the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/pfizer-begins-application-canadas-approval-covid-19-pill-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Cuban health authorities said that researchers in the communistrun country are upgrading its homegrown COVID vaccines to ensure protection against the new Omicron variant. The Caribbean island nation whose economy hinges on tourism sharply eased entry requirements in midNovember following a successful inoculation drive with domestically developed vaccines. Both infections and deaths from COVID19 have dropped off to 2 or less of their peaks according to a Reuters tally. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-upgrade-homegrown-covid-19-vaccine-confront-omicron-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The Omicron variant appears able to get around some immunity but vaccines should still offer protection against severe disease according to the latest data from South Africa where it is fast overtaking Delta to become the dominant variant. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/safrica-festival-halted-after-36-test-positive-covid-site-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The European Unions drug regulator said on Thursday it had started a rolling review of the inactivatedvirus COVID19 vaccine from French biotech firm Valneva weeks after the EU signed a deal with the company for supplies of the shot. The decision to start the realtime review was based on preliminary studies that suggest the vaccine VLA2001 triggers an antibody response against the coronavirus the European Medicines Agency EMA said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/eu-regulator-begins-rolling-review-valneva-covid-19-vaccine-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters China is accelerating research and development of COVID19 vaccines targeting the Omicron variant a health official said on Thursday amid concerns among global scientists that it may spread more quickly than other strains. Mainland China has not detected any Omicron case yet. We are rapidly pushing forward the research and development of Omicronspecific vaccines based on different technologies Zheng Zhongwei who heads a group tasked with COVID19 vaccine development in China told state broadcaster CCTV. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/china-accelerating-research-into-covid-19-shots-targeting-omicron-state-media-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Britains drug regulator on Thursday approved GSK and Vir Biotechnologys antibody based COVID19 treatment Xevudy for people with mildtomoderate COVID19 who are at high risk of developing severe disease. The approval comes as GSK separately announced the treatment has shown to work against the Omicron variant. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-approves-gsk-vir-antibody-based-covid-19-treatment-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Survivors of severe COVID19especially those younger than 65 yearsmay be at more than twice the risk of dying within the next year than those who had mild or moderate illness or were never infected finds a study today in Frontiers in Medicine. Another finding of the analysis of electronic health records of 13638 patients who tested positive or negative for COVID19 is that only 20 of those who had severe COVID19 requiring hospitalization and died did so because of complications of their infection such as abnormal blood clotting respiratory failure or cardiovascular problems. Rather 80 were due to different reasons typically considered unrelated to COVID19. Since these deaths were not for a direct COVID19 cause of death among these patients who have recovered from the initial episode of COVID19 this data suggests that the biological insult from COVID19 and physiological stress from COVID19 is significant wrote the University of Florida at Gainesville researchers. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/12/severe-covid-tied-high-risk-death-mostly-other-causes-within-year 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

FiercePharma History is repeating for Aspen Pharmacare. Nearly 20 years ago as Africa grappled with an HIV epidemic Aspen pioneered the first generic antiretroviral on the continent. Now it has a chance to do something similar with Johnson Johnsons COVID19 vaccine. This time however the South African drugmakers contribution could be even more of a game changer thanks to the scope of the pandemic and the disproportionate toll its taken on Africa an Aspen executive told Fierce Pharma. Aspen earlier this week signed a nonbinding term sheet with two JJ subsidiaries in a bid to license and sell the companys singledose COVID19 vaccine in Africa. The potentially monumental agreement is big for two reasons Stavros Nicolaou Ph.D. group senior executive of strategic trade at Aspen Pharma Group said in an interview. https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/j-j-covid-19-partner-aspen-pharmacare-eyes-looks-to-shore-up-local-capacity-and-quash 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News After his second hospitalization for acute Covid19 Tony Marks expected to get better. Then pain invaded the 54yearold software executives arms and legs. At first he felt like he was covered by deep bruises although nothing was visible on his skin. These days he told me he feels like hes being beaten repeatedly with a baseball bat. Pain is increasingly being recognized as a key feature of what is commonly called long Covid in which symptoms persist after the acute phase of the viral infection ends. In a recent study from Italy for example onethird of Covid longhaulers had symptoms of fibromyalgia or widespread muscle or bone pain. Other research links Covid19 to neuropathic pain often described as burning stabbing or feeling like electrical shocks that results from damage to the nervous system. Pain which also includes headache ranks among the top symptoms of long Covid in large longitudinal studies. https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/02/long-covid-pain-not-acknowledged/ 2nd Dec 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News When Covid19 variants arise the accepted wisdom is that the constellation of mutations they contain developed in an immunocompromised person who contracted the virus and couldnt shake the infection. But some scientists have an alternative theory for where the latest variant of concern Omicron may have acquired the unusual mutations that stud its spike protein. They speculate the virus could have evolved in another animal species. The theory goes that some type of animal potentially rodents was infected with the SARSCoV2 virus sometime in mid2020. In this new species the virus evolved accumulating roughly 50 mutations on the spike protein before spilling back over into people. https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/02/some-experts-suggest-omicron-variant-may-have-evolved-in-an-animal-host/ 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News The World Health Organisation WHO is set to deploy a surge team to South Africa to help deal with the new Omicron COVID variant outbreak. The team will be sent to Gauteng province to help with surveillance and contact tracing as experts warned the new variant could be causing an increase in COVID reinfections across the country. WHO regional emergency director for Africa Salam Gueye also said it was providing technical assistance to boost the production and distribution of medical oxygen in Botswana another country where Omicron has been detected. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-who-deploying-surge-team-to-south-africa-as-reinfections-rise-amid-omicron-outbreak-12484423 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail Victoria has recorded 1149 new infections and ten deaths on Thursday. It marks the largest spike in daily cases since 1471 cases on November 1. Health Minister confirmed there were no cases of new Omicron variant https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10264945/Covid-19-Victoria-Covid-cases-surge-Victoria-state-records-1419-new-infections-ten-deaths.html 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Sweden could impose new restrictions as early as next week to fight the coronavirus pandemic and a rising tide of infections its public health agency said on Thursday. New measures could include general advice such as keeping a distance from other people and wearing a face mask on public transport the agency said but gave no precise details. It also said it might recommend employers to enable staff to to some degree work from home. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swedish-health-agency-says-may-impose-new-covid-19-measures-next-week-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Lebanon will impose a nighttime curfew starting Dec. 17 on nonvaccinated people for three weeks and make full vaccination mandatory for all workers in several sectors due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus the COVID19 committee said on Wednesday. Vaccination will be mandatory for all civil servants and workers in the health education tourism and public transport sectors as of Jan. 10 the committee said. A new coronavirus variant found in South Africa and detected in several countries was determined as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization last week and has led to strengthening COVID19related restrictions around the world. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-reintroduces-some-covid-19-prevention-measures-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters South Koreas daily coronavirus case numbers rose to a new high on Thursday as authorities halted quarantine exemptions for fully vaccinated inbound travellers for two weeks in a bid to fend off the Omicron variant. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency KDCA reported 5266 cases for Wednesday a day after the daily tally rose above 5000 for the first time amid concerns over a sharp rise in patients with severe symptoms. South Korea will require a 10day quarantine for all inbound travellers for two weeks starting Friday halting exemptions given earlier to fully vaccinated people the KDCA said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/skorea-hits-new-covid-19-record-halts-quarantine-exemptions-block-omicron-2021-12-02/ 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Germany is likely to reach a peak of its fourth wave of COVID19 infections by midDecember and this could mean 6000 intensive care beds occupied by Christmas the countrys association for intensive care medicine DIVI said on Wednesday. Andreas Schuppert a forecaster for the DIVI association told a news conference he was moderately optimistic the peak in new cases would come in the next two weeks but warned this would take time to have its full impact on hospitals. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/german-state-reports-four-fully-vaccinated-people-infected-with-omicron-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press The only thing we can do is to listen to the rules follow them and hope its not getting worse. For me its no problem. Im a nurse. I know how sick people get said Wilma van Kampen. Huburt Bruls who as mayor of the Dutch city of Nijmegen banned a protest last weekend said he sympathized with the frustration but was prepared to carry out the national rules. There was a lot of disappointment in the effects of vaccination. Everybody did their best we had one of the highest rates of vaccinations and it wasnt enough. Infections are higher than ever. I myself was a little disappointed but we have to look ahead he said. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-europe-israel-e5ccccf1b07b39d39a31f8b46857a1f9 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press The African Unions health watchdog has appealed for calm over Omicron the new heavily mutated coronavirus variant which has prompted many countries to impose new restrictions. The variant was first reported to the World Health Organization WHO by South Africa a week ago and has quickly showed up across continents deepening fears of another deadly wave of infections and signalling that the nearly twoyear battle against the pandemic is not over. But John Nkengasong head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC on Thursday urged moderation. We are very concerned but are not worried that the situation cannot be managed he told a press briefing. There is no need to panic. We are not defenceless. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/2/no-need-to-panic-africa-cdc-appeals-for-calm-over-omicron 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

AlJazeera On an overcast day in Newham a London borough it looks like business as usual on Green Street as customers buy groceries jewellery and new South Asian outfits. But a sense of stoicism is sometimes interrupted by fear as people worry about what another coronavirus wave could mean. By January this year COVID19 mortality rates were about three times higher in Newham 441 deaths per 100000 people the worsthit London borough compared with 150 deaths in Camden the least affected area of the capital. Everyones face here is now covered in line with recent government guidance that made maskwearing in shops and public transport mandatory once again as COVID resurges. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/2/as-omicron-is-detected-in-a-deprived-london-borough-fears-rise 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

AlJazeera As the world responds to newly emerged Omicron variant the battle against Delta B1617.2driven surges continues with activity showing signs of a plateau last week the World Health Organization WHO said yesterday in its weekly snapshot of the pandemic. With the Omicron variant adding a new wrinkle to a pandemic about to enter its third year the World Health Assembly WHAmeeting in a special session for only the second time in its 73yearold historytoday agreed to begin drafting and negotiating an international agreement to boost pandemic preparedness and response. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/12/delta-surge-remains-strong-world-sizes-omicron-threat 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

STAT News Health officials on Thursday reported the countrys second Covid19 infection from the Omicron variant in a Minnesota resident who notably did not travel internationally recently unlike the first case. The case in Minnesota is an adult male who had been vaccinated and in early November received a booster shot. He lives in Hennepin County which includes Minneapolis state health officials said. He developed mild symptoms on Nov. 22 was tested on Nov. 24 and no longer has symptoms. The man had been in New York City in the days leading up to feeling sick and attended the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21. Minnesota health officials are collaborating with New York City authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on their case investigation. https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/02/second-us-case-omicron-variant-indicates-domestic-transmission/ 2nd Dec 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters The United States on Wednesday identified its first known COVID case caused by the Omicron variant discovered in a fully vaccinated patient who traveled to South Africa as scientists continue to study the risks the new version could pose. Public health officials said the infected person who had mild and improving symptoms returned to the United States from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive seven days later. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-first-case-omicron-variant-2021-12-01/ 2nd Dec 2021