Learn about the status of Covid-19 in several countries of the world after the expansion of the omicron variant

A week before Christmas, the restrictions on the Covid-19 Omicron variant are multiplied again. Several countries began to tighten their measures.

A few days from Christmas parties the restrictions are multiplied again, with a lockdown in the Netherlands, and the cancellation of parties and the closure of cultural sites in other countries, while the pressure on the unvaccinated grows.

The variant, identified a month ago in South Africa, has been detected in about 80 countries and is advancing rapidly in Europe, where it could become dominant for mid-January, according to the European Commission.

Several European countries tightened health measures as the New Year holidays approach or are about to do so.

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In Holland lockdown will begin on Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Saturday. All non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theaters must close until January 14.

In the United Kingdom, which registered a record of infections for the third consecutive day (93,045 cases), the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was “very concerned” about the spread of omicron, dominant in the British capital, and launched an alert procedure to coordinate public services.

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In France, the government asked the mayors to cancel the concerts and fireworks scheduled for New Year’s Eve. In Paris, the cancellation of celebrations on the Champs Elysees was announced this Saturday.

In Ireland, bars and restaurants must close at 8:00 p.m. from Sunday, and the measure will continue until the end of January.

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Denmark theaters, cinemas and concert halls, as well as amusement parks and museums, will close for a month (starting Sunday).

Do the doors close again?

In the American continent, Québec will apply limits to the number of people in bars, restaurants and shops.

In New York, which in 2020 was the global epicenter of the pandemic, Brooklyn restaurants are closing one after another due to an increase in infections.

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And Broadway, the famous theater and musical district, there are scenes of panic due to the cancellation of functions due to positive cases in the cast.

In Asia, South Korea reinstated mandatory closing hours for cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other public places on Saturday, and private gatherings must be limited to four people.

Travel restriction measures also came into effect at the weekend.

Some European Union (EU) countries, such as Irlanda, Portugal, Italy and Greece, require European travelers, including those vaccinated, to present a negative test for covid-19.

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Germany, which on Friday classified France and Denmark as “high risk” areas, will impose a quarantine period on unvaccinated visitors. As of Sunday, the measure will also apply to Norway, Lebanon and Andorra.

German regions called on the central government on Saturday to suspend traffic from United Kingdom.

Turkey will send 15 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to Africa, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday, adding that the low vaccination rates on that continent were a “disgrace to humanity.”

Insistence on the unvaccinated

The measures are accompanied by increasing pressures on people who are not vaccinated, which in some cases go beyond the obligation to inoculate.

In Los Angeles, all city employees, including police and firefighters, who have not received an exemption for medical or religious reasons, They must be vaccinated as of Saturday.

According to the mayor’s office, just over 43,800 of the employees, or 79% of the total, were up-to-date with their vaccinations this week.

On Friday, an American federal court reinstated mandatory vaccination for employees of large companies, as requested by the government, after it was suspended in November by a Texas appeals court.

In Switzerland, as of Monday, only people vaccinated or recovered from the virus they will have access to restaurants, cultural sites and sports and entertainment facilities, as well as any indoor event.

A similar requirement will take effect in France at the beginning of next year, and a simple negative test will no longer suffice, as unvaccinated people did until now.

Vaccination of minors

Meanwhile, the vaccination for children was approved in Brazil, after starting to be applied in other countries such as Chile, Canada, the United States, Israel, Italy and Greece.

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Portugal, one of the countries with the highest vaccination levels in the world, this Saturday began its campaign to immunize children between 5 and 11 years old.

Near 60,000 minors, out of the 640,000 From this age group, they were registered to receive from this weekend a first dose of the pediatric immunizer from Pfizer.

In France, vaccination of children should start on wednesday, “If everything goes well”, said this Saturday the Minister of Health, Olivier Veran.

Pharmaceutical Pfizer announced Friday that intends to test the third dose of the vaccine in children under five years of age, which could lead the company to submit a request for authorization to apply three doses in that age group. (I)

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