Coronavirus news live: Poland enters fifth Covid wave; Australia reports daily death toll

China According to a recent statement released by the National Health Commission, another 171 new confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported for Monday, January 17.

According to the government, this figure is down from 223 a day ago. statistics,

Of the new infections, 127 were locally transmitted, down from 163 the day before. The other new cases were imported.

were in the new locally transmitted case Henan, tianjin, Guangdong, Beijing And shaanxiNHC said.

The country also reported 33 new asymptomatic cases, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases, up from 28 infections a day earlier. There were no new deaths, taking the death toll to 4,636.

Poland is experiencing a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, the health minister said on Monday, warning that its spread omicron version Could send daily case numbers rising to levels not yet seen in the country.

While the number of daily cases has declined since early December, the European Union’s largest eastern member has found little respite since the fourth wave, regularly reporting more than 10,000 new infections per day, less vaccine tech. -up and amid limited restrictions on public life.

“We estimate that the peak of infection will be in mid-February and that peak is about 60,000 cases a day,” Adam Nidzielski said at a news conference.

The number of daily cases reported was 35,251 since the pandemic began on April 1, 2021.

Niedzielski said he expected figures released Tuesday to show more than 20,000 daily cases.

On Friday, 13 of the 17 members of Poland’s Medical Council resigned advising the prime minister on COVID-19, in what they said was a lack of scientific influence on the policy.

One of the members who resigned, Dr Konstanty Zuldrzynski, told TVN 24 on Monday that the death rate in countries where stricter restrictions were implemented was lower than before. Poland, and that the fifth wave would put healthcare under enormous pressure.

“We are heading into the next wave of completely unprepared Omicrons,” he said. “Please remember that the huge mortality rate in Poland is related not only to the low percentage of people who are vaccinated, but also to the fact that we have a very old health system.”

The country of around 38 million has so far reported 4,323,482 cases of coronavirus and 102,309 deaths.

Hello it’s Samantha Locke with you on the blog today as we unpack all the latest COVID developments from around the world.

I will report to you from Sydney and my colleagues from London will take over a little later in the day.

Case numbers coming out now Australia This morning, confirming that the country has hit a new bleak pandemic milestone. NSW and Victoria, the country’s two most populous states, have had a record 74 deaths, with 36 deaths and 22 deaths respectively. This is the highest daily toll of the pandemic for Australia so far.

The Omicron outbreak has continued to drive hospitalization rates to record levels with more people in hospitals and intensive care than at any other time during the pandemic, even as daily infections drop slightly. has reduced.

other side of the world poland, The European Union’s largest eastern member says it is currently battling a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, with cases expected to reach record levels in the coming weeks.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski warned that the spread of omicron version Could send daily case numbers rising to levels not yet seen in the country.

“We estimate that the peak of infection will be in mid-February and that peak is about 60,000 cases a day,” he said at a news conference on Monday.

Here’s a detailed rundown of all the latest global developments:

Europe:

• Kovid booster shots will be offered to children in England NHS England has said that people aged 12 to 15 years who are most at risk from the coronavirus. in people England In the latest change to self-isolation guidance, people are now able to end their coronavirus isolation after a full five days.
• Greece Implemented the vaccination mandate for people over the age of 60.
• I The new chairman of the German parliament’s powerful EU affairs committee has said strict fiscal rules should continue to be suspended to help debt-ridden countries such as Italy.
• A United Nations report has shown that it may take years to return to employment levels before the global pandemic.
• French Teachers’ unions have called for a second major strike this week to protest the government’s COVID testing and isolation protocols, which they say are severely disrupting classes.
• French Parliament has given final approval to the latest measures of the government to deal with Kovid-19, including a vaccine pass Anti-vaccine protesters protested.
• Uzbekistan 1,037 new daily COVID cases have been reported, which is the highest number on record.
• Kazakhstan A record 13,523 cases were reported on Sunday, and the Kazakh government has announced that middle and high school students in the country’s three largest cities will study remotely until the end of March.
• President of Swiss Credit, Antonio Horta-Osorio, Is resigned It was reportedly found by a Swiss bank that it had broken the COVID-19 quarantine laws.

Asia:

• Number of Kovid-19 cases across the country China Monday reached the highest level since March 2020, as the country recorded an increase of 223 new infections per day.
• in many cities China are now on high covid alert in preparation for lunar New Year The holiday travel season is when hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel across the country. city ​​like luoyang in central China and jieyang now in the south Residents are required to report the details of their visits in advance.
• Sugar officers are Citizens urged not to order goods from abroadClaiming a recently discovered Omicron infection Beijing came from an international package sent from Canada, According to experts, there is no strong scientific basis for the claim.
• Beijing Winter Olympics Tickets will not be sold to the general public in the latest Covid shock.
• Japan Considering keeping 11 counties will extend their COVID vaccination booster shots by two months, including Tokyo and its surrounding area, under a quasi-state of emergency to prevent a rapidly growing sixth wave of infections.
• hong kong Police have arrested and charged two Cathay Pacific The flight attendant allegedly violated the COVID rules.
• Thailand Its health minister said on Monday, as part of a proposed easing of some COVID measures later this week, is considering rolling back a quarantine exemption for vaccinated visitors.

Of America:

• to passengers airy There may soon be a need to supplement your vaccinations with a booster to be able to visit islands without quarantine.

Middle East:

• Israel The Kovid isolation has been reduced to five days for people without symptoms.

Treatment:

• chief executive officer of pfizer, Albert Bourla, has said that the spread of the coronavirus will continue for many years to come, but that this current wave should be the last that sanctions will have to lead.
• Modern The goal is to introduce a single booster vaccination that will protect against both COVID-19 and flu within two years, its chief executive officer said.
• a fourth shot According to a preliminary study in the U.S., the COVID vaccine increases antibodies to an even greater level than the third jab, but this is not sufficient to prevent omicron infection. Israel.
• Modern The CEO says data for the Omicron-specific jab is likely to be available in March.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any story or suggestion to share. Your thoughts are always welcome.

E-mail: samantha.lock@theguardian.com
Twitter: @samantha__lock