BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 07: A Chinese woman holds her dog that is wearing a protective mask as well as they stand in the street on February 7, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of a deadly new coronavirus rose to more than 31000 in mainland China Friday, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global public health emergency. China continued to lock down the city of Wuhan in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease which medical experts have confirmed can be passed from human to human. In an unprecedented move, Chinese authorities have put travel restrictions on the city which is the epicentre of the virus and municipalities in other parts of the country affecting tens of millions of people. The number of those who have died from the virus in China climbed to over 636 on Friday, mostly in Hubei province, and cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and several others. The World Health Organization has warned all governments to be on alert and screening has been stepped up at airports around the world. Some countries, including the United States, have put restrictions on Chinese travelers entering and advised their citizens against travel to China. (Image: Getty)
Britain has now reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases, while staff shortages have expanded at England’s hospitals, clinics, rail services, fire departments, and ambulance services. Meanwhile, Israel now offers four vaccine doses.
In more uplifting news, after the omicron variant sent cases skyrocketing to record levels in South Africa, cases have started falling and are down by more than 20% over the last week.
“This is encouraging and quite optimistic in terms of the decreasing trends and case numbers,” said Dr. Michelle Groome, an epidemiologist at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
She added, though, that case figures may have been affected by reduced testing over the holiday season.
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In Gauteng Province, the heart of South Africa’s latest outbreak, new infections seem to have peaked in the last week, Groome said. Three more of South Africa’s nine provinces also reported decreases, while the country’s coastal provinces are still reporting increases in new cases.
Early-data studies from Gauteng Province have shown that omicron cases tend to be less severe than those associated with the earlier variants. There’s also a “downward trend” in patients needing critical care and in deaths from Covid, said Dr. Waasila Jassat, a public health specialist at the institute.
More than 44% of the country’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, but the daily pace of new vaccinations has fallen short of the government’s goals.
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