Which countries in Europe have ordered restrictions to stop the omicron variant?

Europe is preparing to enter the Christmas festivities with fear that travel and celebrations will bring an increase in infections, in a context of measures designed to limit the effect of the pandemic and, in particular, of the omicron variant of coronavirus.

The global cases of COVID-19 fell by two percent last week, despite the sharp increase in infections that has recently been registered in many Western European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and Spain, according to the weekly epidemiological report of the World Health Organization (WHO).

LOOK: COVID-19: What are the symptoms of the omicron variant of the coronavirus so far known

From December 13 to 19, 4.1 million cases were confirmed in the world, so that the accumulated in two years of pandemic rises to 274 million, according to data from the Geneva-based agency, while deaths have been of more than 5.3 million.

In America, which these days will exceed the barrier of 100 million accumulated cases, 904,000 infections were registered last week, a decrease of 10%, while in East Asia the positives rose 12%, and in the Middle East and South Asia they fell by 12%.

COUNTRIES TAKE ACTION

France today opened the covid-19 vaccination for all children from 5 to 11 years old, on a voluntary basis, once the last favorable opinion of the expert bodies has been obtained. Likewise, Paris wants that, given the increase in infections by omicron variant, after the holidays at the beginning of January, the companies in which the teleworking regime is possible increase this system to three or four days a week.

• WHO: Global cases of the omicron variant detected quadruple in just one week
• Confirmed cases of the omicron variant in Austria increased by 467% in one week
• Italy suspends 308 doctors and health workers who worked without being vaccinated against the coronavirus

In addition, the French executive will present next Monday a bill to transform the covid certificate, which is required to go to a bar, a restaurant, a cinema, a show or a stadium, into a vaccination certificate.

To cope with the advance of omicron the German government and the federal states agreed on a series of restrictions that will come into force on December 28. From that date there may not be meetings of more than ten people and the clubs must close.

In Italy, the meeting of experts against covid-19, which takes place this Tuesday, will study the possible introduction of new restrictions. Prime Minister Mario Draghi stated that mandatory vaccination is not on the table, although it is not ruled out, and among the measures that the experts will see, he specifically referred to the use of outdoor masks, possible tests to participate in some activities or the reduction of the validity time of the health certificate.

Finland has tightened restrictions on hospitality and social events starting on Christmas Eve. From December 24, bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 9:00 p.m. and will have to close their doors an hour later, despite the fact that their customers must show their covid passport to access the premises.

The restrictions will be tightened even more as of December 28 for a period of three weeks and will especially affect cocktail bars and nightclubs, whose capacity will be reduced by half and will have to close at 6:00 p.m.

Belgium studies reimposing “social bubbles”, cancel some events and advance the closure of restaurants and bars to try to stop the expansion of the coronavirus, measures on which the Belgian concertation committee will decide late this Wednesday. For the time being, a total confinement similar to that of the Netherlands is ruled out.

Conversely, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out further measures before Christmas, after the conservative deputies were against limiting the movements of the population. However, the Government does not rule out applying more restrictions next week, once the experts are clearer about the impact of the extension of the omicron variant in the health system.

THE OMICRON VARIANT

Global genomic laboratories detected in the last week some 14,000 new cases of coronavirus Of the new omicron variant, four times more than the approximately 3,500 of the previous seven days, according to the epidemiological report of the World Health Organization (WHO).

When analyzing these numbers, it should be taken into account that they add up the analyzes of the last 60 days, so that the real percentage of cases omicron it can be even higher, although on the other hand there is a special effort to detect the new variant and laboratories tend to sequence suspected cases of it.

CONTAGES

In Austria The number of confirmed infections with the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 increased by 467% in the week of December 12 to 19 compared to the previous one, totaling 278, while today it is already 365. Without However, some five thousand people from Great Britain, where omicron is already the dominant variant, have arrived in the Austrian Alps in recent days, which would mean, according to the authorities’ estimate, that 15 cases (of omicron) are imported up to date.

And in Germany, the weekly incidence this Wednesday stood at 289 infections per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 306.4 the day before and 353 last week amid the fears that the advance of the omicron variant raises.

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Deshawn