Category Archives: Coronavirus

Fauci: Omicron ‘raging through the world’ and travel increases Covid risks

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The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has “extraordinary spreading capabilities”, the top US infectious diseases expert said on Sunday, and promises to bring a bleak winter as it continues “raging through the world”.

Dr Anthony Fauci’s warning came ahead of the busy holiday travel period, which he said would elevate the risk of infection even in vaccinated people.

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Life in the ward: how do you care for Covid patients in prison?

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‘You can only build a net, it’s never a wall,’ says Dr Michael Novy, who cared for 160 inmates through a flap in a locked door

  • Read more in our series Inside Covid

From prisoners to the homeless and people living with disabilities – these are some of the at-risk communities hidden from public view during the pandemic. Now the health workers working with them share their stories.

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The science is clear: the case for more Covid restrictions is overwhelming

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Analysis: Omicron studies so far have been rapid first takes, but the message for England is loud and clear

For a variant that came to light less than a month ago, the evidence for Omicron’s potential to wreak havoc has mounted at breakneck speed. What studies have emerged are rapid first takes, but the message they convey is now loud and clear: the scientific case for more restrictions is overwhelming. Without hard and swift action to curb transmission, the NHS faces a battering.

The first red flag came in late November when scientists in southern Africa shared early genomes of what became known as Omicron. Soon after they landed, Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, highlighted the “awful” mutations that marked it out as a fast-spreading, vaccine-dodging variant. On receiving a text about Peacock’s tweet, Dr Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), conceded it filled her with gloom.

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New York reports 22,000 new Covid cases – but hospitals say they can cope

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Omicron surge leads to event cancellations and lines at testing sites but health system not yet under serious strain

New York state reported on Saturday that nearly 22,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday – eclipsing Thursday for the highest single-day total for new cases since testing became widely available. Amid fears over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, more than half of the positive results were in the city.

The Rockettes on Friday canceled remaining performances of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, citing “increasing challenges from the pandemic”. Saturday Night Live taped without an audience and with reduced crew. Lines at some testing sites stretched around the block and at-home tests remained hard to find or pricier than usual.

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Sajid Javid: ‘no guarantees’ over further Covid curbs before Christmas – video

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The UK health secretary refused to rule out imposing tougher Covid restrictions in England before Christmas, after warnings that hospitalisations could peak at up to 10,000 a day without further action. 

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Javid acknowledged that the data on Omicron remained incomplete - but suggested it might be necessary to make decisions before a full picture is available

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London hospital staff speak out: ‘We’re not here to judge, but please get your Covid vaccines’

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Health workers at King’s College hospital fear a surge in admissions as the Omicron wave gathers force, but are cautiously optimistic

On the third floor of one of the country’s biggest hospital trusts, a team of intensive care specialists in masks and visors huddle around a screened bay where a critically ill patient lies unconscious surrounded by cables and tubes.

The elderly man’s breathing is supported by a ventilator and he is connected to an arterial line to measure blood pressure. He is fed by a gastric tube, and a nearby stack of six monitors provide updates on his condition, from oxygen levels to heart rate.

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Netherlands to enter lockdown as nations across Europe tighten curbs to slow Omicron spread

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Dutch lockdown puts limits on Christmas celebrations, while France and other countries toughen restrictions as Covid cases climb

Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.

All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until 14 January starting Sunday, caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until 9 January, he said.

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Pandemic on Wall Street causes rising levels … of bonuses

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Enforced takeovers during the crisis will mean a bumper year for the bankers who advise on billion-dollar deals

Just as most of us are feeling the effects of soaring inflation, which the Office for National Statistics said last week had reached a 10-year high of 5.1%, wealthy bankers and traders are looking forward to receiving extraordinarily large new year bonuses.

Banks on both sides of the Atlantic are finalising bonus pool deals that could be inflated by as much as 50% compared with last year, reaching their highest levels since 2009 and the mergers and acquisitions boom that followed the financial crisis.

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Kamala Harris concedes White House ‘didn’t see’ Delta and Omicron coming

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Vice-president’s candid admission on Covid variants came in wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times

Kamala Harris has conceded that the Biden administration was blind to the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid-19, and said she fears “misinformation” over vaccines will prolong the pandemic well into a third year.

The candid admission came in a wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times, which followed reports that the vice-president was “struggling” to make a mark as Joe Biden’s No 2 and was keen for a more prominent role.

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Is there any good news at all on Omicron? Yes, there are small signs of hope

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Analysis: scientists are only starting to understand new Covid mutation but there is encouraging news from the laboratory, South Africa and on antiviral drugs

It’s hard to find much good news among the waves of grim statistics that have washed over the nation since the emergence of Omicron.

Once again, the NHS is threatened and again, the prospect of a new year lockdown looms. We seem to have gained nothing in the battle against Covid-19 during the past 12 months.

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Guests urged to be vaccinated at anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr’s party

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Kennedy said his wife, Cheryl Hines, was behind it and that he is ‘not always the boss at my own house’

Guests invited to a holiday party at the home of the leading anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr were urged to be vaccinated or tested for Covid-19 because, Kennedy said, he is “not always the boss at my own house”.

Speaking to Politico, which reported the request before the party in California last week, Kennedy said his wife, the actor Cheryl Hines, was behind it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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It’s beginning to look a lot like last Christmas: why the UK has Covid deja vu

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Omicron cases are soaring, experts want curbs and Boris Johnson is dithering. Sound familiar?

That old adage of Marx insists that historical events occur first as tragedy, then as farce. The government’s handling of the pandemic in the UK long ago undermined that progression: tragedy and farce have, since the very beginning of the crisis, always been a double act.

The clashing tone of current events feels like a dispiriting festive repeat of all-too-familiar dramas. A week that began with the exposed scandal of Downing Street lockdown parties, and ended with chief civil servant Simon Case stepping down as investigator of those scandals, because of a party in his own office, was also yet another week in which the alarming progress of the virus outpaced government rhetoric and claimed another thousand lives.

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Sadiq Khan declares ‘major incident’ over Covid surge in London – video

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The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has declared a ‘major incident’ to help the capital’s hospitals cope with a surge in Covid-19 cases caused by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

Khan said the step would allow for closer coordination between different public agencies, after the UK reported the largest 24-hour rise in new cases since the pandemic began

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Passenger rush to beat French entry deadline causes long freight queues

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Lengthy tailbacks on M20 heading to Dover and at entrance to Channel tunnel follow change of rules on Friday night

A rush of passengers travelling to France to beat the country’s ban on UK tourists has led to a knock-on effect on freight traffic, resulting in long queues of lorries.

There were lengthy tailbacks on the M20 motorway in Kent heading to Dover and at the entrance to the Channel tunnel on Saturday.

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WHO says Omicron in 89 countries and spreading rapidly

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Cases doubling every 1.5 to three days if there is community transmission but clinical severity of variant unknown

The Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to three days in areas with community transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus’s ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both, the WHO said in an update.

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Nice nibbles and virtual squabbles: how to Covid-proof your Christmas

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If Omicron threatens to disrupt your plans, don’t panic – here’s a guide to making the best of it

So here we are again. Out are the plans to dust off your dancing shoes at the Christmas party, and in is the stockpiling of toilet rolls and boxes of chocolates for the long nights ahead.

With a “staggering” increase in Covid cases accelerated by the spread of the Omicron variant predicted by medical advisers this week, many people are fearing that they will once again face Christmas in not-so-splendid isolation.

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Court rules Biden’s vaccine mandate for large employers can take effect

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Decision reverses previous ruling but Republican officials say they will appeal measure to supreme court

A federal appeals court panel has allowed Joe Biden’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for larger private employers to move ahead, reversing a previous decision on a requirement that could affect some 84 million US workers.

The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 6th US circuit court of appeals in Cincinnati overrules a decision by a federal judge in a separate court that had paused the mandate nationwide.

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Australia records more than 4,000 daily Covid cases for first time – as it happened

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NSW’s 2,482 new Covid cases the worst total of any Australian state or territory since pandemic began; Queensland records 31 cases. This blog is now closed

The chainsaws outside my window have now been replaced by leaf blowers. Who authorised this?!

Ahead of the prime minister’s appearance in Tasmania today, I highly recommend reading Katharine Murphy’s latest analysis of Morrison’s strategy so far in the lead-up to next year’s election:

When he’s not trialling new made-for-TV grabs (a new “shake and bake” analogy, which I think was invoked first in relation to emissions reduction, and now has morphed into something broadly economy adjacent, or “jabs and jobs” which was Friday’s innovation), the prime minister has taken to listing things.

Morrison’s current list includes saving lives during the pandemic. Shoring up the health system “with more than $33bn from the federal government in additional investment”. Saving livelihoods with “the single largest economic rescue package in our history”. Presiding over economic recovery after the waves of the pandemic – “more than 350,000 jobs created in a five-week period after the lockdowns were lifted, and through the crisis, we have maintained that AAA credit rating”.

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T-cells in Pfizer Covid jab recipients stay robust against severe illness

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Research in South Africa raises hopes that similar responses may be present with other vaccines

South African researchers examining how the body’s immune system responds to the Omicron variant have identified that T-cells in people who have had the Pfizer vaccine continue to be robust in potentially protecting against severe illness despite Omicron’s ability to evade other defences.

The research raises hopes that similar responses may be present with other vaccines and within unvaccinated individuals who have been infected with coronavirus.

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‘It’s a fraught moment’: Omicron puts brakes on US return-to-office plans

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Employers are pausing efforts to call remote workers back in amid a renewed push for strikes and unionization

Large US companies are now pulling back on plans to return to in-person work in light of the Omicron variant’s rapid spread across America.

Employers planning to call remote workers back into the office in the new year are now pausing those efforts, and they are wary of setting new return dates only to push them back once again in the face of continued uncertainty and risks from the pandemic.

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