America kicks off 2022 with 102 million COVID cases and omicron advance

America began the year with more than 102 million cases of coronavirus and 2.4 million deaths from the disease, at a time when the omicron variant is gaining strength on the continent by making a presence in 18 territories.

In general, the COVID-19 Until this Monday, 102,287,397 people infected and 2,404,354 died on the continent, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

In addition, data from the German Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) indicate that there is already a presence of omicron in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.

Also, positives have been detected in French Guiana, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Martinique, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Back to the closures due to COVID-19

The United States, the country most affected by the virus in the world, has seen its intention to return to normalcy spoiled at the beginning of the year.

Only in the economic capital of the country, New York, there are record levels of infections (85,000 last Saturday) and a clear increase in hospitalizations (9,500 this Monday), above the “winter peak” of 2021.

This caused many companies this week to return to teleworking, a formula that they had gradually abandoned during 2021 and that they hoped to banish in 2022.

Those who said “no” to the return to the office at the start of the year included Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Another drama is being experienced in aviation, a sector in which the combination of the windstorm and snow plus the expansion of the coronavirus led to this Monday of the 4,347 flights canceled worldwide, 2,790 had as origin or destination US airports.

Also, the musical “Mrs. Doubtfire, ”on Broadway, announced that it will stop for nine weeks due to the wave of the virus, which has already caused numerous temporary suspensions and premature closings of other musicals in the theater’s mecca.

Other news has to do with the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, who revealed late on Sunday that he tested positive for COVID-19 in a test that was done after presenting symptoms while he was on Christmas vacation at home.

Fear at sea

It is also not very encouraging what is happening in Brazil with the increase in COVID-19.

There, the five cruise ships that are currently operating on the Brazilian coast have registered cases among their crew and passengers, and three have already been imposed new sanitary restrictions, reported the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

Of the three to whom restrictions were imposed, two were declared at level 4 of epidemiological severity, that is, when it was already found that transmission on board is community and high, so they have to suspend operations, and the third at level 3, in which there are infections and transmission but not at worrying levels.

The two level 4 cruise ships, the MSC Esplendida and the Costa Diadema, were forced to interrupt their journeys, quarantine all crew members and passengers, and return to the ports from which they sailed to initiate a disembarkation as necessary. possible.

So far, the pandemic has left 620,000 dead in the South American giant and 22.3 million cases.

Tests upon arrival in Argentina

Another country that took measures again to prevent the spread of the disease was Argentina, where both its citizens and foreigners who arrive in the country by air, river or sea must carry out tests due to the increase in the omicron variant.

“From the proliferation of omicron, a variant with an increased risk of transmission and reinfection compared to those that previously circulated, it is a requirement to enter Argentina to perform a diagnostic test,” said the Ministry of Health.

Those who are not tested will not be able to attend mass events or social gatherings in closed spaces.

The decision was based on the increase in cases suffered by the South American country, which at the end of December exceeded the barrier of 50,000 infections.

Among those affected by the disease is the captain of the Argentine team and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker, Lionel Messi, who after testing positive remains in isolation in his native country and awaiting a negative result that allows him to return to France.

The soccer star arrived in the City of Rosario on December 23 to spend the holidays with his family and friends, with whom he attended a private party whose images went viral.

Increase in figures in Mexico and Ecuador

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, recognized the increase in COVID-19 infections in the country by omicron, but stressed that it is less harmful and less deadly.

“Yes, infections from this new variant are increasing, but fortunately there is no increase in hospitalizations and, most importantly, there are no deaths,” said the president. Mexico detected the first person infected with omicron on December 3 and since then there are more than 40 cases.

Overall, the country is close to 4 million infections and adds 299,544 deaths due to COVID-19.

In the same way, it was announced that Ecuador will reduce the capacity in public institutions to 50% from this Tuesday to try to stop the infections.

In this regard, the Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, commented that there has been “a weekly increase of 9,676 cases of COVID, especially in the provinces of Guayas, Pichincha, Manabí, Pastaza, Tungurahua.”

Ecuador had 704 new infections this Sunday and accumulated 552,324 cases in the pandemic.

The number of confirmed deaths with coronavirus amounted to 23,855, to which were added 9,828 “probable deaths”, for a total of 33,683 deaths.