The southern Chinese city of Zhuhai suspended public bus routes after announcing that it had detected at least seven cases of the highly transmissible variant of the Omicron coronavirus there and warning residents not to leave the city.
The coastal city, which borders the gambling hub of Macau, said late Friday that Omicron had been detected in one mildly ill and six asymptomatic patients, following mass testing for a case in a neighboring city.
China is battling a series of coronavirus outbreaks, including several of the Omicron variant, as surveillance against the virus ramps up ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.
Millions of people across the country have been ordered to stay home in recent weeks, with dozens of domestic flights canceled and factories shuttered.
Zhuhai officials have asked residents to avoid leaving the city “unless necessary”, and those who do must show negative Covid test results in the past 24 hours. The city had launched mass testing for its population of 2.4 million people on Friday after a Covid case was detected in neighboring Zhongshan earlier in the week.
China reported 165 new cases on Saturday, up from 201 the day before.
Meanwhile, in the U.S, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its guidance for Americans on masks, recommending wearing “the most protective mask you can afford” and stopping short of recommending the national use of the kind N95.
The CDC clarified on its website “that people can choose respirators such as N95s and KN95s, including removing concerns related to N95 supply shortages.” Americans should “wear the most protective mask they can that fits them well and that they will wear consistently,” the CDC added.
He said he wanted to encourage Americans to wear masks, “it’s important to remember that any mask is better than no mask,” instead of just pushing them to wear the highest-grade face protection, but he also said explicitly that respirators are better. while “Loosely woven fabric products provide the least protection.” He said the revised recommendations “reflect the science on masking, including what we have learned in the last two years” since the start of the pandemic.
The United States is registering about 1,800 Covid-19 deaths and 780,000 new infections per day, the most in the world, as well as record levels of hospitalized patients. The Omicron-related surge appears to be slowing in areas that were hit first, including northeastern and southern states, according to a Reuters analysis. In western states, the number of new cases was up 89% last week compared to the week before.
Australia It is likely nearing the peak of its Omicron wave, officials said on Saturday, while warning daily infections would remain near record levels for weeks to come after more than 100,000 cases were reported for the fourth day in a row.
Having limited the spread of the coronavirus through tough restrictions early in the pandemic, Australia is suffering from a record number of Omicron cases. Most parts of the country have switched to a live with the virus strategy after reaching high vaccination rates. Some states’ modeling “leads me to believe that we are near the peak of this wave in terms of cases,” said Paul Kelly, chief health officer.
Infections have fallen over the past three days, while the rise in hospitalizations in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, the hardest hit, has slowed slightly, official data showed.
Most states are dealing with record hospitalizations from the Omicron wave, with officials saying unvaccinated young people make up a “significant number” of admissions in Australia.
from Brazil The Ministry of Health reported 112,286 new cases in the last 24 hours and 251 deaths from Covid-19. Brazil has had 22,927,203 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 620,796 according to ministry data.
With Reuters, AP and AFP
www.theguardian.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism