January 11 coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant news

The Omicron variant caused 98.3% of new coronavirus cases in the US last week – slightly higher than the previous week, according to estimates posted Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Over the past month, Omicron has risen rapidly in estimates, accounting for:

The Delta variant makes up virtually all of the rest.

To note on the data: Not every Covid-19 test is sent for the extra genetic sequencing needed to detect which variant has infected someone. The CDC works off samples and extrapolates its estimates based on that extra testing.

United Airlines says it is reducing its flight schedule in hopes of stemming off Covid-related staffing shortages that have caused thousands of flight cancelations industrywide. However, CEO Scott Kirby praised the company’s vaccine mandate for keeping employees out of the hospital.

In a new companywide memo, Kirby said the airline is “reducing our near-term schedules to make sure we have the staffing and resources to take care of customers.” He did not say by how much the airline is drawing down flights.

Kirby said that while “the Omicron surge has put a strain on our operation,” with nearly 3,000 United employees who are currently positive with coronavirus, there is a silver lining – the company’s vaccine mandate.

Scotland will lift its attendance limit of 500 people at large outdoor events from Monday but with enhanced checks on vaccine certification, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced to the Scottish Parliament. 

Sturgeon said at least 50% of attendees rather than the current 20%, or at least 1,000 people – whichever is more – will be checked for “Covid certification” at outdoor events.

“The requirement to be ‘fully vaccinated’ for the purposes of Covid certification will include having a booster if the second dose was more than four months ago,” said Sturgeon, but continued to say people will still be able to attend by showing proof of a negative lateral flow test.  

However, Sturgeon stopped short of announcing a full easing of social distancing requirements at indoor public places, meaning nightclubs will remain closed until at least Jan. 24.  

Total deaths from Covid-19 in Poland surpassed the 100,000 mark on Tuesday, figures from the country’s Ministry of Health show. 

The ministry reported 493 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Currently, the country has reported 100,254 Covid-19 fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the ministry.

Other European nations that have reported more than 100,000 Covid-19 deaths include Germany, France and the UK.

Covid-19 hospitalizations in the United States have reached a new record high, surpassing the previous peak from January 2021, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

There are 145,982 people currently hospitalized with Covid-19 – about twice as many than two weeks ago. There are nearly 24,000 intensive care unit beds in use for Covid-19 patients.

Hospitalizations reached a previous peak about a year ago, with more than 142,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19 on Jan. 14, 2021. During the Delta surge over the summer, Covid-19 hospitalizations peaked at about 104,000 on Sept. 1, 2021.

There have been only 23 days since the beginning of the pandemic that there have been more than 125,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19 at one time, HHS data shows.

Pediatric hospitalizations have already far surpassed previous peaks – with nearly 5,000 children currently hospitalized with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That’s nearly double the previous peak from September during the Delta surge.

There have been about 3.9 million total hospital admissions for Covid-19 since August 2020, and there were about 18,600 new admissions each day during the first week of January 2022, according to federal data.

According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of hospitalization is eight times higher for unvaccinated people than it is for fully vaccinated people. This varies week to week, but in the last week of November, CDC data shows that hospitalization rates were about 17 times higher for unvaccinated people than for fully vaccinated people.

Right now, Covid-19 hospitalization rates are highest in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Ohio – each with more than 60 current Covid-19 hospitalizations for every 100,000 people.

The HHS data on Covid-19 hospitalizations includes both those patients who are hospitalized because of Covid-19 complications and those who may have been admitted for something else but test positive for Covid-19. This has been true throughout the pandemic, though the share of patients who fall into each category may have changed over time.

In urgent questions in the House of Commons, the deputy leader for the opposition, Angela Rayner, criticized British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after news of a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) party during lockdown in May 2020 emerged.

She said it was “incredibly disappointing” Johnson was not present for the urgent questions.

Rayner said “the public has already drawn their own conclusions. He (Boris Johnson) can run but he can’t hide.”

“It won’t wash Mr Speaker, to blame this (party) on a few junior civil servants, the prime minister sets the tone,” she said.

Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party, echoed the criticism, saying Johnson and his staff had “partied behind the walls of his private gardens” while citizens watched loved ones dying.

An investigation into alleged gatherings during lockdown on May 15 and May 20, 2020, led by Sue Gray, second permanent secretary in the cabinet office, is underway, Michael Ellis, UK Paymaster General, has confirmed.

Covid-19 cannot yet be referred to as an endemic disease, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official has said.

Dr. Catherine Smallwood, Covid-19 incident manager at the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told a virtual WHO Europe news conference Tuesday that Covid-19 is “still a way off” endemicity. 

Smallwood explained endemicity assumes there is “stable circulation of the virus at predictable levels, and potentially known and predictable waves of epidemic transmission.” 

“It may become endemic in due course, but pinning that down to 2022 is a little bit difficult at this stage,” Smallwood said, adding “all of this of course depends on how we respond to it and widespread vaccination uptake on an equitable basis will be very, very key in moving towards such a scenario.” 

Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe, has emphasized the need to do everything to keep children in schools throughout further waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Looking ahead, the numbers of infected people are going to be so high in many countries that schools may be unable to keep all classes open all the time, due to a lack of staff,” Kluge said at a virtual news conference Tuesday. 

However, he stressed that: “Keeping schools open has important benefits for children’s mental, social and educational well-being. Schools should be the last places to close and the first to reopen.

“This winter, it is advisable to make arrangements for online learning alongside physical presence, so children can continue with their education when they are unable to attend school in person,” Kluge told the conference. 

He reiterated that the WHO’s recommendations for educational settings -- ventilation, hand hygiene and the use of appropriate face masks -- remained essential.

Kluge also added that “countries may wish to consider reviewing the protocols on testing, isolation and quarantine of classroom contacts to minimize disruption to learning, mitigating these risks as far as possible with good ventilation and mask usage.”

Countries not yet affected by a surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant should adopt mask mandates, according to Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe.

“Omicron moves faster and wider than any such Covid new variant that we have previously seen. We therefore urge these countries to mandate the use of high-quality masks in closed and indoor settings and ensure that vulnerable individuals have access to them,” he said. 

As of January 10, 26 countries in the region reported that more than 1% of their population is catching Covid-19 each week, Kluge said.

He added that he is “deeply concerned that as the variant moves East [across Europe], we have yet to see its full impact in countries where levels of vaccination uptake are lower, and where we will see more severe disease in the unvaccinate.” 

Kluge used the example of Denmark, where he said Omicron cases had “exploded” in recent weeks, and the Covid-19 hospitalization rate for unvaccinated patients was six-fold higher than for those who were fully vaccinated in the week over Christmas.