The global news on the spread of Omicron virus

 

The global news on the spread of Omicron virus

The variant Omicron is expected to infect more than half of Europe's population over the next six to eight weeks. On Tuesday, a WHO official said that the United States broke the world record by reporting 1.35 million new cases of COVID-19 in a day.

Asia Pacific

* China's aviation regulator has canceled more than 60 scheduled flights from the United States in recent weeks after several passengers tested positive after arriving.

* China's Tianjin said its latest outbreak had reached 49 confirmed cases by midday on Tuesday, as it battles a variant of Omicron that has been detected in at least two other provinces.

* Vietnamese lawmakers have approved a stimulus package worth about $15.4 billion for 2022-2023 to support the country's economy affected by the epidemic and those affected by the restrictions.

* Nearly one million Hindu devotees are expected to gather in the Ganges on Friday and Saturday for a holy bath despite the spread of infection across the country.

- Novak Djokovic, the tennis champion on Tuesday, prepared for his attempt to win the Australian Open next week. However, he could still be deported because the government says he did not sufficiently justify the medical exemption from vaccination needed to enter the country.

America

* The (CDC) and the State Department have advised against all travel to neighboring Canada, and the Washington Post reported that they are considering recommending better masks.

* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time, saying he has a mild case and will continue to work in isolation until he recovers.

Europe

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under fire after it emerged that his private secretary invited more than 100 people to a "bring your own drinks" party in Downing Street during the first lockdown.

* The number of reported deaths in Poland topped 100,000 on Tuesday, as the country struggles to vaccinate people despite persistently high infection rates.

* The Prime Minister, the President of Bulgaria, and several senior ministers entered self-isolation after one of the participants in a security meeting they attended tested positive.

* Porverig, the 46th patriarch of the influential Serbian Orthodox Church, has tested positive.

Africa and the Middle East

* The Gabon Oil Workers Union and the Water and Electricity Workers Union said they had started a general strike to protest COVID-19 restrictions and the cost of PCR tests.

* Coronavirus has exhausted the football teams competing in the Africa Cup of Nations, with Senegal playing 18 players and Malawi with four players on the bench - including two goalkeepers.

- Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that the tests are positive, but he is in good health.

medical advances

* Preliminary results from two clinical trials in South Africa indicate that Omicron has a much higher "asymptomatic transmission" rate than previous variants, which may explain why it has spread so quickly.

* Spain's PharmaMar said laboratory and animal experiments showed that Plitidepsin has positive antiviral effects on COVID-19 species, including Omicron.

Economic Impact

* Global stocks rose, and bond yields held on to recent gains on Tuesday as investors awaited an appearance by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell before the Senate Banking Committee, hoping for clues on the timing of the expected policy tightening.

Oil rose towards $82 a barrel, supported by a lack of supply and hopes that rising issuances and the spread of Omicron would not hinder global demand recovery.

* Only 1 in 10 World Economic Forum members surveyed expect that the global recovery will accelerate over the upcoming three years, according to a survey of nearly 1,000 business, government, and academic leaders.