America faces the last week of 2021 with a constant increase in Covid cases – 19, after exceeding the 100, 000, 000 of infections and approaching 2, 500, 000 of dead , while studying new Measures to respond to the Omicron variant, whose spread has forced the cancellation of thousands of flights and several cruises in the middle of the Christmas and end of the year holidays.
America: 70, 500, 000 of cases and 2, 400, 000 of deaths
The World Organization for Health (WHO) already registers 276, 400, 000 of infections and 5, 370, 000 of deaths from Covid – 19 globally.
America continues to be the most affected region in the world, with a 36% of the cases (100,400, 000 of infected) and near the 45% of deaths (2, 400, 000).
Of these, almost half of the infections (46, 200, 000) and the 55% of deaths (1, 550 , 000) have been registered in Latin America .
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has warned of the situation in the continent, which is about to enter the third year of the pandemic with a constant increase in Covid cases – 19, especially in North America, where last week there was a rise in the 36% of infections.
Meanwhile, there was a decrease in cases and deaths in areas of Central and South America , although countries like Bolivia reported a considerable weekly increase in infections (13%), while in Ecuador and Argentina they also grew, although to a lesser extent.
Omicron is a variant of the virus that causes #COVID 19. To protect yourself and others:
💉 Get vaccinated as soon as it’s your turn
😷 #WearAMask
↔️ Keep physical distance and avoid crowds
🪟 Open windows
💪 Cough / sneeze into your elbow
👐 Clean your hands– World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 27, 2021
More of 20 territories confirm Ómicron
According to the most recent reports, the Ómicron variant has been notified in about twenty territories and countries in America, including Argentina, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, United States, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin and Trinidad and Tobago.
They are joined by the Dominican Republic, which notified a case last Saturday, and Paraguay, where the Government reported this Monday of the first infections with the Omicron variant: three travelers from Cancun (Mexico).
The continent remains on alert for this variant, which has already been detected in more than 100 countries of the world and continues to spread exponentially, doubling the cases in the communities where it is transmitted in a matter of two or three days, according to the WHO.
World authorities, however, have tried to lower the alarm by underlining that data from outbreaks in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Denmark suggest a lower risk of hospitalization in patients who contract the disease. Omicron variant compared to the delta.
Impacted tourism sector
Despite this, the uncertainty due to the impact of Ómicron continues and has led to an increase in res trictions, especially affecting the airline sector, where in this final stretch of the year thousands of cancellations and rescheduling of flights were registered, especially in China and the United States.
This Monday, in fact , the major airlines of the United States canceled more than a thousand trips for the fourth consecutive day due to the advance of the variant , according to Flight Aware, a company that publishes information on flights in real time.
Last Sunday, 1, 517 planes stayed in earth, Saturday other 1, 000 aircraft with destination or departure from the United States did not take off either and on Friday of Christmas Eve 700 were the aircraft that remained in the hangars, according to Flight Aware.
According to United airline, the increase in infections by Ómicron in the United States is having a “direct impact” on its crew members. ations and the rest of the company’s personnel, who are forced to rest and quarantine home to recover from the disease.
The problems have also affected the cruise ships: the Carnival Freedom returned to Miami on Sunday after an undetermined group of passengers tested positive for Covid – 19, so it was unable to dock in the Caribbean islands of Bonaire and Aruba.
Last Thursday, Royal Caribbean reported that a total of 55 passengers and crew members of the Odyssey of the Seas, which sailed the previous Saturday from a port in Fort Lauderdale, tested positive for the disease during an eight-day cruise.
And the authorities of the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean Sea, announced that they will maintain the ban on cruises, reversing the decision that this week they would allow the stopover of a pri mer ship.
New measures
Given the advance of the virus, several countries are reconsidering some of the his preventive measures.
In the case of the United States, the main epidemiologist of the Government, Anthony Fauci, said this Monday that the Joe Biden Administration is evaluating “seriously ”Reduce the isolation time for those who have been infected with the virus and considered that it would be“ reasonable to evaluate ”the imposition of new vaccination requirements on domestic flights.
Ómicron is the dominant one in the United States, where more than 70% of infections correspond to this variant , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English).
Currently, the isolation period is ten days, although last Thursday, the CDC established an exception for health personnel, for whom they determined a five-day quarantine.
For its part, the Dominican Republic, which last Saturday confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant in its territory, announced this Monday that it will apply a fourth dose of the Covid vaccine – 19, in a new effort to control the pandemic.
And in Chile, where they have been confirmed close to 250 cases of Ómicron, the Government warned that more than 1, 600, 000 of people who still have not received their Covid booster dose – 19 will suffer mobility restrictions if it is not injected before January 1.
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