In the Netherlands there were protests against the restrictions.
The omicron variant of the coronavirus was first detected in South Africa and soon became predominant in the world.
Roby Bhattacharyya, an infectious disease expert at Massachusetts General Hospital (United States), told The country that this is the virus that has spread the fastest around the world in its history.
Precisely the United States is one of the countries that, due to this variant, faces a vertiginous increase in cases of coronavirus.
According to Anthony Fauci, the White House’s top adviser on the fight against the pandemic, the experience of South Africa, where omicron peaked quickly and then declined almost as quickly, offers some hope.
With the omicron sweeping the world, more than 440,000 new cases of COVID were reported in the United States on Friday, almost 200,000 more than during a peak last February, he recalls AFP.
Fauci added that it also increases the evidence that omicron is softer than previous variants. Rates of deaths and hospitalizations in the United States have been much lower in recent weeks than during previous waves of COVID-19.
The United States, like other countries, has been struggling to find a balance that protects public health without seriously damaging the economy or hitting key services like policing and air travel.
Given that the children will return to schools on the Monday after the end of the year break, both Fauci and the US Secretary of Education ensured that face-to-face classrooms can be carried out safely if proper precautions are taken.
Fauci again pleaded with parents to make sure their children are vaccinated, wear masks and get tested for COVID if necessary.
Meanwhile, the Italian authorities reported 61,046 new coronavirus infections this Sunday, a very distant figure from the more than 140,000 cases in recent days, but a quarter of the tests that had been carried out have also been carried out.
The Italian Ministry of Health indicated that slightly less than 280,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out, compared to more than one million that had been done in recent days.
The death toll has been 133 since Saturday, bringing the total number to 137,646 victims since the start of the pandemic, while total infections exceed 6.3 million.
The rapid dissemination of the omicron variant, which has led the country to exceed the record of daily cases, has forced the Italian Government to decide that from January 10 it will require the reinforced health certificate (which is obtained in Italy when it has been vaccinated or has passed the disease) to be able to access means of transport, in addition to hotels, ceremonies or festivals. Now it is requested for leisure and to consume inside bars and restaurants.
The Government has also abolished the quarantine for those vaccinated for less than four months or with the booster dose for close contact with a positive, a measure that is already in force after its publication on December 31 in the Official State Gazette.
In South America, the Chilean health authorities reported this Sunday the detection of 1,921 new infections nationwide, again exceeding 10,000 active cases in a context of rebound after the end of the year celebrations.
With this new report, the total number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in Chile amounts to more than 1.8 million since the start of the pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Health (Minsal), the omicron variant has become the second with the highest circulation after the delta, despite its recent appearance, during the last days of November.
Chile shows a variation of 19% more cases in the last seven days and the Ministry of Health has already announced measures to contain an accelerated spread of the virus, considering the community transmission of omicron, which has already been confirmed.
Protests over restrictions
Meanwhile, a protest in the city of Amsterdam against the restrictions applied by the pandemic this Sunday resulted in clashes between thousands of protesters and Dutch police officers, despite the fact that the municipality had restricted access to the central area and prohibited several demonstrations.
Around noon, the municipality issued what is known as an “emergency order” to limit access and movement through the area of Museumplein, a public square in the southern part of the city, and warned that the police “will act in phases against people who ignore the prohibition of demonstrations ”.
After disregarding the order, the municipality warned that everyone should leave Museumplein, but some protesters stayed, and others marched towards the central area of Westerpark, where a protest called by the far-right party Foro para la Democracy (FvD).
The Netherlands has been in “strict confinement” since December 19, which decreed the closure of all non-essential activity until January 14, as well as schools until January 9, and the number was limited to two of guests to a home, although the limitation of freedom of mobility in the country has not been decreed.
With these restrictions, together with teleworking, it seeks to limit social contact due to fears of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which has already been the dominant one in the Netherlands since last week. (I)
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