Countries ease isolation to avoid economic paralysis in the face of invasive omicron variant

Faced with a wave of the omicron variant that triggered the contagions of coronavirus covid-19, more and more governments of the world are easing the rules of isolation of the sick and their contacts to avoid an economic paralysis.

The high degree of contagion of omicron and the consequent work suspensions and quarantines, weigh heavily on societies, even when the acceleration of infections is not accompanied, for now, by an increase in mortality.

LOOK: Israel detects the first case of “flurone”, an infection of coronavirus and flu at the same time

Europe, the current epicenter of the pandemic, faces unprecedented levels of infections: more than 4.9 million cases registered in the last seven days, 59% more than the previous week, according to an AFP count on Saturday.

In total, more than 100 million cases have occurred in Europe since the virus was discovered in December 2019.

• China: coronavirus infections in city with its entire population in quarantine fall to their lowest level in a week
• China registers 191 new cases of coronavirus, 131 due to local contagion
• More travel problems: 4,500 flights canceled worldwide on the first day of the year

In Latin America, Ecuador announced on Saturday that it ended the last month of 2021 with 24,287 infections, more than double those reported in November (9,513) and triple that in October (7,556).

While France, with more than a million cases detected in the last seven days, announced on Sunday a relaxation of the rules of isolation of infected people and their contacts, as a way to preserve the socioeconomic life of the country.

LOOK: Europe exceeds 100 million cases of coronavirus

Under the rules that go into effect on Monday, positive people who have a full vaccination will have to be isolated for seven days instead of ten, and may be reduced to five if they test negative on a subsequent test.

Those who were in contact with these people should not quarantine if they have the complete vaccination scheme.

The rule change should ensure “control of infections while preserving socioeconomic life,” explained the French Ministry of Health in a statement.

“Living with the virus”

In United Kingdom, with records of infections, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there will be no new restrictions, except as “absolute last resort.”

Shortly before Christmas, the British government had reduced the days of isolation for vaccinated people who contract the virus from ten to seven. coronavirus.

“Limiting our freedom must be an absolute last resort and the British hope that we will do everything we can to prevent it.”Javid wrote in an article in the Daily Mail.

He added whatand “I have been determined that we give ourselves the best opportunity to live with the virus.” The British Ministry of Health is responsible for health policy in England, not the rest of the United Kingdom, which did adopt new restrictive measures in the face of the variant omicron.

For its part, the Swiss health authority decided on Friday that the cantons can reduce the quarantine for people who had contact with someone infected from ten to seven days.

Fear of economic destabilization led Spain to decide last Wednesday to reduce the isolation of people infected with covid-19 to seven days, instead of ten, to balance public health and economic growth, according to the president of the government, Pedro Sanchez.

On the same day, Argentina made a similar decision to try to minimize the economic impact of a record outbreak of infections. Portugal did it on Friday.

Canceled flights

South Africa estimates that it has already surpassed the peak of the wave of omicron and on December 31 lifted the night curfew in force for 21 months.

“We seek a balance between people’s lives, their livelihoods and the goal of saving lives”, explained the Minister of the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele.

In a reflection of the invasive impact of omicron, world air traffic suffered numerous disruptions.

Pilots and crew members had to quarantine due to COVID-19 infections or contacts with infected people, leading airlines to cancel flights.

On Saturday in the United States, where bad weather added to the disturbances due to the wave of infections, some 2,660 flights were canceled, more than half of the cancellations worldwide, according to the FlightAware site.

To limit absences and avoid blockades and shortages, the government of President Joe Biden decided on Monday to reduce the duration of recommended quarantines from ten to five days for people who contracted COVID-19, provided they are without symptoms.

______________________________

• The day that ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán left a city without roses to bury his son
• Mexico will require a visa from Venezuelans to prevent them from reaching the United States
• The murdered actress Tania Mendoza and her love for the Mexican drug lord Arturo Beltrán Leyva
• “My husband cut off my hands with an ax”
• Tania Mendoza, actress of “La mera reina del sur” is shot to death in Mexico

.

Deshawn