Omicron Variant Drives World's Daily COVID-19 Cases To New Record

With the Omicron variant surge, global coronavirus cases at 1.44 million have crossed a prior daily record of infections in December 2020, revealed sources.

The seven-day average of COVID-19 cases was nearly 841,000 on Monday, a 49 percent rise from November 24, when Omicron was first identified in South Africa.

WHO Experts Warn Tamil Nadu of Sudden Rise in Omicron Cases
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned the Health Department of Tamil Nadu against a sudden spurt in Omicron cases.

‘The Omicron variant has taken the place of the Delta variant to become the most prevalent variant in the country.’

More than 11,500 international flights have been canceled across the globe amid reports of a record surge in the new cases of the variant.

The UK is currently reporting more than 100,000 new infections a day.

Greek Health Minister Thanos Plevris has announced tighter restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 as the daily number of new cases has surged to an all-time high in the country.

Bill Gates Warns Omicron Will Hit Home for All of Us
Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist warned that the world "could be entering the worst part of the pandemic" as the new COVID-19 variant Omicron spreads fast across the globe, stressing that Omicron will "hit home for all of us."

French Prime Minister Jean Castex and Health Minister Olivier Veran have announced a series of new measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the New Year festivities and urged their countrymen to respect the preventive measures during the celebrations.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has issued a nationwide level 3 warning after 514 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been detected.

AstraZeneca's Antibody Drug Evusheld Can Help Fight Omicron Variant
AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish drugmaker's antibody medication 'Evusheld,' was found to be effective against the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The new Omicron variant has driven a winter surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the US, with daily infections reaching a record high since January.

The country is averaging more than 176,000 new cases daily, according to the latest data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

New Antibodies may Neutralize Omicron and Other COVID-19 Variants
A new study finding tells us that by focusing on antibodies that target these highly conserved sites on the COVID-19 spike protein, there is a way to overcome the evolving variants including omicron.

Nearly 300,000 new cases were reported on Monday, a new high since January 8 this year.

Currently, the US is witnessing about 1,200 new deaths from COVID-19 each day, CDC data showed.

Health officials have been warning that the Omicron variant will continue to overwhelm hospitals and healthcare workers.

The Omicron variant has derailed holiday plans for many Americans who are traveling. Over 1,000 flights in the country were canceled on Monday amid the Omicron surge.

Canada reported 18,230 new COVID-19 cases, elevating the cumulative total to 2,026,249 cases with 30,172 deaths, according to CTV.

The Omicron infection tally has risen to 653 across India. However, of the total cases, 186 have been discharged from hospitals. So far, 21 states have reported Omicron infections.

Australia reported its biggest daily COVID-19 total on Monday, along with its first known death from Omicron.

In just one month, 108 countries have reported over 151,368 Omicron cases, and there have been over 26 deaths.

Meanwhile, the CDC has shortened the isolation time for Americans infected with COVID-19 from 10 to 5 days.

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 281.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.40 million and vaccinations to over 8.97 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 281,368,071 and 5,406,197, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 8,972,162,735.

Source-IANS