South Africa recorded more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, nearly double the number from one week earlier. The government is making a renewed push for people to get vaccinated, but so far is avoiding new lockdown measures, in an effort to protect the economy.

Coronavirus cases are rising dramatically in South Africa with over 113,000 people currently infected.

Experts say the omicron variant discovered in South Africa last month is most likely driving the latest wave.

But Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele told reporters today that the government is trying to avoid stricter lockdown measures.

“The damage the restrictions caused last year, level five and so on, thousands of business that stopped and the number of jobs that have been lost. The attitude the government is adopting is find the best possible way of navigating whilst ensuring that… the economy moves,” said Gungubele.

The South African government is championing vaccinations in order to protect more people from severe illness.

The efforts appear to be working, with more than 133,000 people receiving a shot Wednesday. It means 43 percent of adults have at least had one dose.

Gungubele said vaccinations are key to protecting lives as the government tries to protect both public health and the economy.

“You need to find a balance between the livelihood and lives, because these are two side of the same coin and that coin is life. When one of them collapse, the life collapse,” said Gungubele.

Still, hospitalizations are increasing, with over 300 people admitted Wednesday. 

Minister Gungubele said the government is closely monitoring admissions to ensure facilities don’t end up overwhelmed. “So far the reports we’re getting is that there is no red flag in that.”

Thirty-six people died Wednesday of the coronavirus, bringing the country’s total death toll to over 90,000.

South African health officials are expected to release more information on their findings about the current wave and the omicron variant on Friday.
…

Pakistan has detected its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Official said Thursday the infection was found in a 57-year-old unvaccinated woman in Karachi, the country’s largest city and capital of the southern Sindh province.

Local media reported the patient, who was isolating at home after being discharged from the hospital a day earlier, did not have a travel history and contact tracing was under way.

“We have not yet concluded the genomic study of the patient’s sample but the way the virus is behaving, it seems like it is omicron,” provincial Health Minister Azra Fazal Pechuno said in a video statement.

 

Pechuno said people need not panic and urged them to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“Omicron is highly transmissible, but deaths or serious illnesses have not been seen in reports from South Africa,” where the variant was first detected, she added.

Late last month, Pakistan placed a complete ban on travel from six African countries, including South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini — formerly known as Swaziland, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia, and Hong Kong after the discovery of omicron.

Authorities later extended the ban to nine more countries, including Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland and Zimbabwe, and tightened monitoring of passengers arriving from several other nations.

Pakistan, a country of about 220 million people, has reported close to 1.3 million coronavirus cases, including more than 28,800 deaths.

As of Thursday, officials said more than 24% of the total population and 35% of the eligible population had been vaccinated against the pandemic.

 

 
…

New Zealand’s government believes it has come up with a unique plan to end tobacco smoking — a lifetime ban for those 14 or younger.

Under a new law the government announced Thursday and plans to pass next year, the minimum age to buy cigarettes would keep rising year after year.

That means, in theory at least, 65 years after the law takes effect, shoppers could still buy cigarettes — but only if they could prove they were at least 80 years old.

In practice, officials hope smoking will fade away decades before then. Indeed, the plan sets a goal of having fewer than 5% of New Zealanders smoking by 2025.

Other parts of the plan include allowing only the sale of tobacco products with very low nicotine levels and slashing the number of stores that can sell them. The changes would be brought in over time to help retailers adjust.

Because the current minimum age to buy cigarettes in New Zealand is 18, the lifetime smoking ban for youth wouldn’t have an impact for a few years.

In an interview with The Associated Press, New Zealand’s Associate Health Minister Dr. Ayesha Verrall, who is spearheading the plan, said her work at a public hospital in Wellington involved telling several smokers they had developed cancer.

“You meet, every day, someone facing the misery caused by tobacco,” Verrall said. ”The most horrible ways people die. Being short of breath, caused by tobacco.”

Smoking rates have steadily fallen in New Zealand for years, with only about 11% of adults now smoking and 9% smoking every day. The daily rate among Indigenous Maori remains much higher at 22%. Under the government’s plan, a task force would be created to help reduce smoking among Maori.

Big tax increases have already been imposed on cigarettes in recent years and some question why they aren’t hiked even higher.

 

“We don’t think tax increases will have any further impact,” Verrall said. “It’s really hard to quit and we feel if we did that, we’d be punishing those people who are addicted to cigarettes even more.”

And she said the tax measures tend to place a higher burden on lower-income people, who are more likely to smoke.

The new law wouldn’t impact vaping. Verrall said that tobacco smoking is far more harmful and remains a leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, killing up to 5,000 people each year.

“We think vaping’s a really appropriate quit tool,” she said.

The sale of vaping products is already restricted to those 18 and over in New Zealand and vaping is banned in schools. Verrall said there was some evidence of a rise in youth vaping, a trend she is following “really closely.”

New Zealand’s approach to ban the next generation from tobacco smoking hasn’t been tried elsewhere, she said.

But she said studies have shown youth sales decrease when minimum ages are raised. In the U.S., the federal minimum age to buy tobacco products was raised from 18 to 21 two years ago.

While public health experts have generally welcomed the New Zealand plan, not everybody is happy.

Sunny Kaushal said some stores could be put out of business. Kaushal chairs the Dairy and Business Owners Group, which represents nearly 5,000 corner stores — often called dairies in New Zealand — and gas stations.

“We all want a smoke-free New Zealand,” he said. “But this is going to hugely impact small businesses. It should not be done so it is destroying dairies, lives and families in the process. It’s not the way.”

Kaushal said the tax increases on tobacco had already created a black market that was being exploited by gangs, and the problem would only get worse. He said smoking was already in its twilight in New Zealand and would die away of its own accord.

“This is being driven by academics,” he said, adding that stakeholders hadn’t been consulted.

But Verrall said she didn’t believe the government was overreaching because statistics showed the vast majority of smokers wanted to quit anyway, and the new policies would only help them achieve their goal.

She said the pandemic had helped people gain a new appreciation for the benefits of public health measures and rallying communities, and that perhaps that energy could be harnessed not only to tackle smoking but also diseases like diabetes.

 
…

U.S. health authorities on Wednesday authorized the use of synthetic antibodies developed by AstraZeneca to prevent COVID-19 infections in people who react badly to vaccines.

It was the first time the Food and Drug Administration has given emergency authorization for such a purely preventative treatment.

The FDA warned the drug Evusheld is “not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination is recommended” and can only be authorized for people with weakened immune systems or those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, such a strong allergic reaction.

In those cases, the drug can be administered to people 12 and older.

Evusheld combines two types of synthetic antibodies (tixagevimab and cilgavimab), and is given as two intramuscular injections, one right after the other. These antibodies help the immune system fight off the virus by targeting its spike protein, which allows it to enter cells and infect them.

The FDA said that the treatment “may be effective for pre-exposure prevention for six months.”

It cannot be administered to someone who is already infected with the virus, the FDA said, although AstraZeneca is testing it for such treatment.

Side effects may include an allergic reaction, bleeding from the injection site, headache, and fatigue.

The FDA authorization was based on a clinical trial carried out on unvaccinated people older than 59, or with a chronic disease, or at high risk of infection.

The drug was given to 3,500 people while 1,700 received a placebo. The trial showed that the treatment cut the risk of developing COVID-19 by 77%.

Two cocktails of antibodies, made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, are currently authorized for prevention of infection in the United States, but only in people who have been exposed to the virus shortly before, or who have a strong chance of being exposed, such as employees of retirement homes or prisons.

In addition to being immunocompromised or unvaccinated, these people must also be at high risk of developing a severe case of the disease. 
…

The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing.

The vote was 52-48. The measure now goes to the Democratic-led House, which is unlikely to take up the measure, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.

“Every so often Washington, D.C., does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.”

Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.

Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is suspended as the litigation unfolds.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics.

Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.

Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach.

“His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said.

In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated.

“How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?” 
…

More than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the chief of the CDC said Wednesday. But she said nearly all of them were only mildly ill. 

In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the data is very limited and the agency is working on a more detailed analysis of what the new mutant form of the coronavirus might hold for the United States. 

“What we generally know is the more mutations a variant has, the higher level you need your immunity to be. … We want to make sure we bolster everybody’s immunity. And that’s really what motivated the decision to expand our guidance,” Walensky said, referencing the recent approval of boosters for all adults.

She said “the disease is mild” in almost all of the cases seen so far, with reported symptoms mainly cough, congestion and fatigue. One person was hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported, CDC officials said. 

Some cases can become increasingly severe as days and weeks pass, and Walensky noted that the data is a very early, first glimpse of U.S. omicron infections. The earliest onset of symptoms of any of the first 40 or so cases was November 15, according to the CDC. 

The omicron variant was first identified in South Africa last month and has since been reported in 57 countries, according to the World Health Organization. 

The first U.S. case was reported on December 1. As of Wednesday afternoon, the CDC had recorded 43 cases in 19 states. Most were young adults. About a third of those patients had traveled internationally. 

More than three-quarters of those patients had been vaccinated, and a third had boosters, Walensky said. Boosters take about two weeks to reach full effect, and some of the patients had received their most recent shot within that period, CDC officials said. 

Fewer than 1% of the U.S. COVID-19 cases genetically sequenced last week were the omicron variant; the delta variant accounted for more than 99%. 

Scientists are trying to better understand how easily it spreads. British officials said Wednesday that they think the omicron variant could become the dominant version of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom in as soon as a month. 

The CDC has yet to make any projections on how the variant could affect the course of the pandemic in the U.S. Walensky said officials are gathering data, but many factors could influence how the pandemic evolves. 

“When I look to what the future holds, so much of that is definitely about the science, but it’s also about coming together as a community to do things that prevent disease in yourself and one another. And I think a lot of what our future holds depends on how we come together to do that,” she said. 

The CDC is also trying to establish whether the omicron variant causes milder — or more severe — illness than other coronavirus types. The finding that nearly all of the cases so far are mild may be a reflection that this first look at U.S. omicron cases captured mainly vaccinated people, who are expected to have milder illnesses, CDC officials said. 

Another key question is whether it is better at evading vaccines or the immunity people build from a bout with COVID-19. 

This week, scientists in South Africa reported a small laboratory study that found antibodies created by vaccines were not as effective at preventing omicron infections as they were at stopping other versions of the coronavirus. 

On Wednesday, vaccine manufacturer Pfizer said that while two doses may not be protective enough to prevent infection, lab tests showed a booster increased levels of virus-fighting antibodies by 25-fold. 

Blood samples taken a month after a booster showed people harbored levels of omicron-neutralizing antibodies that were similar to amounts proven protective against earlier variants after two doses, the company said. 

 
…

The World Health Organization says new data is emerging every day about the potential impact of the new omicron variant on the coronavirus pandemic, but that it is premature to draw conclusions about the severity of the infection.

Since omicron was detected two weeks ago in South Africa, it has spread rapidly to 57 countries. The World Health Organization says certain features of the new coronavirus variant, including its global speed and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the evolution of the pandemic. 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says omicron appears to be extremely contagious, with cases in South Africa rising more quickly than the delta variant. That indicates an increased risk of re-infection with omicron, he says, but adds that more data is needed to draw firmer conclusions. 

“There is also some evidence that omicron causes milder diseases than delta,” he said. “But again, it is still too early to be definitive. Any complacency now will cost lives. Many of those who do not die could be left battling long COVID or post-COVID condition.” 

Tedros says governments and individuals must act now and use all the tools available. He says all governments should re-assess and revise their national plans based on their current situation and capacity. 

“Accelerate vaccine coverage in the most at-risk populations in all countries, intensify efforts to drive transmission down and keep it down with a tailored mix of public health measures,” he said. “Scale up surveillance, testing, and sequencing and share samples with the international community.” 

The WHO chief is urging nations to avoid what he calls the kind of ineffective and discriminatory travel bans that were slapped on southern African countries days after they reported the presence of the omicron variant. 

New evidence, however, reveals that omicron was present in western Europe before the first cases in southern Africa were officially identified. 

The WHO is warning that governments are likely to withhold important scientific information if they believe they will be punished for being transparent.

The message may be getting through. Tedros notes that France and Switzerland have lifted their travel bans on southern Africa. He is urging other countries to follow their lead. 

 
…

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to “leverage” the federal government’s scale and purchasing power to make it carbon neutral, cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% in less than a decade and establish an all-electric fleet of vehicles.

The order will cut emissions in federal operations as part of the government’s effort to combat climate change.

Biden’s directive requires that government buildings consume 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030, the U.S. fleet of vehicles be 100% electric by 2035, and federal contracts for goods and services be carbon-free by 2050.

“The United States government will lead by example to provide a strong foundation for American businesses to compete and win globally in the clean energy economy while creating well-paying union jobs at home,” the White House said in a statement announcing the climate change initiative.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
…

A Japanese billionaire and his producer rocketed to space Wednesday as the first self-paying space tourists in more than a decade. 

Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and producer Yozo Hirano, who plans to film his mission, blasted off for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. 

The trio lifted off as scheduled at 12:38 p.m. (0738 GMT) aboard Soyuz MS-20 from the Russia-leaded Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. 

Maezawa and Hirano are scheduled to spend 12 days in space. The two will be the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009. The price of the trip hasn’t been disclosed. 

“I would like to look at the Earth from space. I would like to experience the opportunity to feel weightlessness,” Maezawa said during a pre-flight news conference on Tuesday. “And I also have a personal expectation: I’m curious how the space will change me, how I will change after this space flight.” 

A company that organized the flight said Maezawa compiled a list of 100 things to do in space after asking the public for ideas. The list includes “simple things about daily life to maybe some other fun activities, to more serious questions as well,” Space Adventures President Tom Shelley said. 

“His intention is to try to share the experience of what it means to be in space with the general public,” Shelley told The Associated Press earlier this year. 

Maezawa made his fortune in retail fashion, launching Japan’s largest online fashion mall, Zozotown. Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $2 billion. 

The tycoon has also booked a flyby around the moon aboard Elon Musk’s Starship that is tentatively scheduled for 2023. He’ll be joined on that trip by eight contest winners. 
…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was exposed to the coronavirus Tuesday by a U.N. official who already had COVID-19 and is isolating for the next few days, diplomatic sources said. 

Guterres, 72, has canceled his upcoming in-person engagements, sources told AFP. 

The U.N. chief was to be the guest of honor of the U.N. Correspondents Association at its annual gala in New York City on Wednesday. On Thursday, he was to participate in a U.N. Security Council meeting on the challenges of terrorism and climate change, led by Niger President Mohamed Bazoum. 

Bazoum, whose country holds the council presidency, arrived in New York on Tuesday and is expected to stay until the end of the week, when he heads to Washington. 

The spokesperson for the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, declined to comment immediately on Guterres’ condition. 

Dujarric indicated a few days ago that Guterres had recently received his third dose of the anti-coronavirus vaccine, after having hesitated for a long time about the advisability of receiving booster shots while millions of people throughout the world have yet to receive their first jab.

 
…

The omicron variant is making headlines as the world’s newest strain of coronavirus. In the United States, where nearly 200,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University, top public health officials warn Americans to stay vigilant even as vaccination rates rise and travelers from countries where the variant was first detected are shut out. 

Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a news briefing on Tuesday that the delta variant accounts for 99% of positive cases sequenced in the United States. She and other members of the White House’s COVID-19 response team asked the public for patience as researchers learn more about the omicron variant, which was first reported in South Africa on November 24.

In the U.S., 19 states have reported omicron infections, but that number is expected to rise as Americans continue to grapple with a pandemic that has persisted since the first COVID-19 case was identified in Washington state in January 2020.

“We must act together, in this moment, to address the impact of the current cases we are seeing, which are largely delta, and to prepare ourselves for the possibility of more omicron,” Walensky said. 

The jury is still out on several key questions related to the variant’s transmissibility, severity and ability to evade immune responses, according to Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser. But early data is encouraging, he said. Preliminary evidence from South Africa, where omicron has overtaken delta as the country’s dominant variant, shows shorter hospital visits and reduced need for ventilators.

“It’s too early to be able to determine the precise severity of disease, but … it appears that with the cases that are seen, we have not seen a very severe profile of disease,” Fauci said. “In fact, it might be – and I underscore, might – be less severe.” 

Still, Fauci said many COVID-19 variants demonstrate increased transmissibility, underscoring the interconnectedness of a pandemic where hot spots often expand to engulf larger shares of the population. Omicron may be more transmissible than the delta variant, according to Fauci.

To help fight this, Jeff Zients, the administration’s COVID-19 coordinator, said the U.S. has donated more than 300 million vaccine doses to 110 countries since Biden opened America’s vaccine reserves in June. These efforts join a new program headed by the U.S. Agency for International Development to expand access and infrastructure in countries where vaccination rates lag. The program, called the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access, pledges $400 million to shore up poorer countries’ vaccine manufacturing and delivery capabilities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Southern African countries have been the subject of recent travel restrictions after researchers in South Africa first discovered the omicron variant. The Biden administration announced November 26 that travelers from eight African countries would be barred from the United States, and on Monday, the CDC began asking travelers passing through U.S. airports to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

“There are lots of unknowns about the transmissibility, the severity, the vaccine impact of omicron,” Zients said. “We understand that this limitation is causing difficulty for those in southern Africa, but we think a temporary limitation on a limited number of countries until we have the answers we need is a reasonable measure for a reasonable period of time.” 

Zients said the administration continues to make progress in vaccinating Americans: Last week, 12.5 million shots were administered, the highest weekly total since May. On Tuesday, 5 million children ages 5 to 11 received at least one dose – a “major milestone in our effort to keep our kids safe and our schools open,” Zients said.

Nearly 61% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data. CDC data show climbing demand for vaccines as the omicron variant spreads and more age groups become eligible for the shot. Nearly 2.2 million vaccines were administered last Thursday, the highest single-day total in seven months. In the past week, nearly 7 million people received a booster, according to Zients.

Though research is still under way on how effective current vaccines are against the omicron variant, Walensky, Fauci and Zients encouraged Americans to stick with tried-and-true methods of limiting the spread of the coronavirus: testing, contact tracing, physical distancing and masks.

“At a time where there is much uncertainty with omicron, we find ourselves in a far better position now than we were last year,” Walensky said. “We have gained knowledge and experience from addressing other variants, such as delta, and we have far more science, tools and treatment options available.” 

 
…

As South Africa struggles with a new surge of COVID-19 infections due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus, a new study suggests omicron could be less severe than other forms of the virus.

The New York Times reports doctors at the Steve Biko Academic and Tshwane District Hospital Complex in Pretoria observed 42 patients who had been admitted last week with COVID-19.They found that 29 patients were breathing ordinary air, while four of 13 patients who were using supplemental oxygen were doing so for reasons unrelated to the virus.

Dr. Fareed Abdullah, the director of the Office of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Research at the South African Medical Research Council, told the Times that the 166 coronavirus patients who were admitted to the hospital between November 14 and November 29 had an average hospital stay of 2.8 days, with fewer than 7 percent dying.

In comparison, COVID-19 patients at the hospital over the previous 18 months stayed an average of 8.5 days, with 17 percent dying.

The report also says 80 percent of the 166 patients were under 50 years old, a change from earlier waves of COVID-19 patients, who were older. It says that suggests a high vaccination rate in South Africans over age 50.

Dr. Abdullah cautioned that the study has not been peer-reviewed, and it is not known how many patients were diagnosed with the omicron variant.

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases says new coronavirus infections have reached more than 16,000, up dramatically from 2,300 cases reported last Monday.

The NICD says the rapid increase in cases is “unprecedented” in the trajectory of the pandemic, now in its fourth phase in South Africa.

Ian Sanne, an infectious disease specialist who serves on South Africa’s COVID-19 presidential advisory committee, is advising hospitals to prepare for “significant surges” of patients in coming weeks and months, and to make sure they have plenty of oxygen.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated France and other nations as “very high” risk for travelers to contract COVID-19.The other nations on the CDC’s “Level 4” list are Andorra, Cyprus, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Portugal and Tanzania. The nations join 78 other destinations the CDC is urging Americans to either avoid or ensure they are fully vaccinated before traveling.
…