The United States will provide millions of free coronavirus tests to fight omicron

U.S announced Tuesday that it will distribute millions of free trials of covid-19 before the advance of the omicron variant, which has forced several governments around the world to reimpose restrictions for the end of the year celebrations.

Washington also assured that will donate more than 500 million dollars to international organizations to fight the pandemic in many countries, while Israel announced new travel restrictions to the United States.

The omicron variant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States: Last week it was responsible for 73.2% of the new cases detected, according to data from the health authorities of that country. The week before it was only 12.6%.

In some states, like Florida (southeast), the proportion of omicron reaches 95% of cases, indicated the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most mourning country in the world in absolute numbers, with more than 807,000 deaths from covid-19.

In this context, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, will announce new containment measures on Tuesday. On Tuesday the White House detailed the president’s strategy against the advance of omicron: free tests, reinforce the vaccination campaign and additional equipment for hospitals, although no restrictions for the population before Christmas.

“We have the tools to overcome this wave”, a White House official said Tuesday. “There is no need to confine our schools or our economy,” he limited.

In particular, US authorities are going to distribute 500 million free covid-19 tests, the federal government will mobilize a thousand doctors, nurses and military medical personnel across the country if necessary in January and February, and will expand the scope of its vaccination campaign.

U.S It will also give 580 million dollars to international organizations, mainly the WHO, to fight against the covid in the framework of the omicron advance, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Preliminary data suggest that ómicron, detected in dozens of countries after its appearance in South Africa in November, could be more infectious and possibly have greater resistance to vaccines, despite indications that it is not more severe than the delta variant.

“Celebrate late”

Faced with the fears that the spread of omicron, Israel reimposed tough restrictions.

A parliamentary committee on Tuesday banned citizens and residents from traveling to the United States, placing it on a blacklist of more than 50 countries that includes Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey.

Also, Hong Kong further tightened its strict rules for entering the island from abroad by including the United Kingdom in a list with 12 African countries and U.S, whose travelers must be part of their quarantine in a government camp.

In turn, the Netherlands entered a new confinement, while Paris and London canceled the official New Year’s celebrations with concerts and fireworks.

It is better to “celebrate late than celebrate now and regret later”, said Monday the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling on countries to redouble their efforts to end the pandemic and cancel year-end celebrations.

In Germany, the government plans to tighten sanitary restrictions for the same dates, according to a project that AFP agreed to and which should be discussed on Tuesday in an emergency meeting between the federal government and the 16 German regions, followed by a press conference of the new chancellor Olaf Scholz

As of December 28, people vaccinated or cured of the virus will not be able to receive more than 10 guests in their homes and provided that all are immunized, according to the text. The permit is reduced to a maximum of two people for the unvaccinated.

Sporting events, such as Bundesliga football matches, will take place without spectators, as will cultural events and concerts, according to another text broadcast in the evening. The cinemas will only accept those vaccinated and cured, but the discos will be closed.

The leading European economy has faced a virulent advance in the epidemic linked to the delta variant since the autumn.

Cases in Chinese city

The WHO chief launched the goal of ending the pandemic next year “ensuring that 70% of the population of all countries is vaccinated” by mid-2022.

Those efforts were expanded on Monday after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the anticovid vaccine from the American laboratory Novavax, which uses a more classical technology compared to those used by other drugs already authorized.

Until Sunday, the pandemic left 5.36 million dead worldwide since the WHO detected the appearance of covid-19 in China at the end of December 2019, according to an AFP balance made from official sources.

The epidemic has been practically eradicated from China since then thanks to drastic measures, but the city of Xi’an (north) on Tuesday began testing millions of residents for coronavirus after detecting more than 40 new cases of covid.

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