Hong Kong hunts down possible COVID contacts, orders tests: Live | News
Hong Kong has ordered people who were in some 57 locations visited by close contacts of a person later confirmed with Omicron to undergo compulsory testing as part of a stringent response to the discovery of the variant in the community.
The territory is sticking to the COVID-zero policy that China has maintained since suppressing the outbreak in Wuhan, the central city where the virus first emerged in late 2019.
Omicron is fuelling record daily cases of coronavirus in the United States as well as countries in Europe including the United Kingdom.
A quick summary of some of the recent developments:
- The United States has set a new global record for daily cases, reporting 1,082,549 new cases on Monday after the holiday weekend.
- The United Kingdom, France and other European nations are also reporting record caseloads.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there is growing evidence that Omicron, while more transmissible, causes milder symptoms.
Here are the latest updates:
COVID in Xi’an ‘brought under control’
Officials in Xi’an say cases of COVID-19 in the city have been largely “brought under control” following a strict lockdown.
It reported 35 cases on Wednesday, the lowest daily count since the middle of last month,
“Although the case number has been high for many days, the rapid rise in Covid spread at community level has been brought under control compared with the early stages of the outbreak,” Ma Guanghui, deputy director of Shaanxi health commission told a press conference.
“The overall trend of the epidemic is showing a downward trend.”
But other cities are also battling outbreaks, with a new partial lockdown imposed in the city of Zhengzhou in neighbouring Henan province. The city has reported two cases and nine asymptomatic infections in recent days.
Malaysia detects new Omicron cases in returning Umrah travellers
Malaysia has confirmed 54 more cases of Omicron, with 39 of them in Malaysians returning from Saudi Arabia.
Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin says four of the cases are local, but linked to an Umrah traveller.
Malaysia has been maintaining strict border controls to contain the spread of the virus with only citizens and long-term residents allowed into the country.
Given the high number of Omicron cases found in travellers returning from Saudi Arabia, it announced last week that it would suspend Umrah pilgrimages from January 8.
54 kes lagi Omicron (confirmed whole genome sequenced). 39 daripada 54 adalah pengembara warganegara Malaysia yang kembali dari Arab Saudi. 4 adalah jangkitan tempatan daripada kes indeks yang pulang dari Umrah. https://t.co/UnLubk2961
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) January 4, 2022
(Translation: 54 more cases of Omicron (confirmed by sequencing of whole genome). 39 of the 54 are Malaysian citizens returning from Saudi Arabia. 4 are local infections via an index case who returned from Umrah)
Hong Kong seals off apartment complexes, enforces compulsory testing
Hong Kong has been sealing off residential housing complexes and enforcing compulsory testing to stamp out coronavirus transmission after a resident was discovered to have the Omicron strain of the virus.
So-called ‘restricted area’ testing was imposed on two apartment buildings in the Causeway Bay area of the Chinese territory on the night of January 4 with all residents required to be tested in order to leave their homes. Some 270 people at the two locations had been tested by 3am (07:00 GMT), the government said, with no cases found.
People who were in 57 locations at the same time as contacts of the COVID-19 patients have also been ordered to undergo compulsory testing. The locations include branches of McDonald’s, the M+ art museum and various buses, trains and ferries.
Hong Kong reported 39 cases on January 5, 36 of then imported and three linked to an existing imported case.
People who visited the M+ museum on the afternoon of December 30 are among those being ordered to get COVID-19 tests in Hong Kong [File: Jerome Favre/EPA]
Macron vows to ‘hassle’ unvaccinated
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned people in France who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 that their access to key aspects of life will be limited.
“I really want to hassle them,” Macron told the Le Parisien newspaper in an interview. “And we will continue to do this, to the end. This is the strategy.”
He added this would mean “limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life”.
The French government is trying to push through legislation that would make vaccination compulsory to enjoy cultural activities, take inter-city trains or visit cafes and restaurants from January 15.
Rio cancels Carnival parades for second year in a row
Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro has cancelled street parades and parties at its annual Carnival for the second year in a row.
The city’s mayor says that’s because of an increase in COVID-19 cases and the threat from the arrival of the Omicron variant.
Hundreds of thousands of people usually attend such events every year.
“The street carnival, by its very nature, due to the democratic aspect it has, makes it impossible to exercise any kind of inspection,” Eduardo Paes said in a live internet broadcast.
The display by Rio’s samba schools will go ahead with strict health protocols for those watching from the stands.
Street parties and parades for the Rio Carnival will be banned for a second year, but the display by Rio;s samba schools will go ahead [File: Sergio Moraes/Reuters]This is Al Jazeera’s live blog on the coronavirus pandemic. For coronavirus’ news from January 4, please click here.
