Scientists are racing to learn more about the omicron variant, which they worry could prove more transmissible or more vaccine-resistant than other forms of the virus. The variant has spread to many states since California reported its first case Wednesday, with some cases confirmed among New York City residents.
Here’s what to know
Malaria deaths rose as pandemic disrupted services, WHO says
Return to menuThe coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc last year on the fight against malaria, with “disruptions to services” causing an estimated 14 million more infections and nearly 50,000 more deaths compared with 2019, according to the World Health Organization.
“Even before the pandemic, global progress against malaria had levelled off, and countries with a high burden of the disease were losing ground,” wrote WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the global health organization’s new World Malaria Report. He warned of an “immediate resurgence” of the disease, especially in Africa, without “accelerated action.”
The WHO reported 241 million cases of malaria last year and 627,000 deaths, up 69,000 from 2019. Some of that increase stemmed from a change in counting methodology, but officials attributed most of it to the coronavirus.
The grim numbers bore out experts’ long-held fears and illustrated how the coronavirus and efforts to fight it — through shutdowns and other social distancing — have hampered lifesaving work. The WHO noted that many countries struggled to complete their campaigns to give people insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
But death counts could have been far higher without strong efforts to adapt to the covid-19 era, the WHO said. Worst-case analyses early in the pandemic projected that malaria deaths could double.
Africa continued to bear the brunt of the disease, recording 95 percent of cases worldwide and 96 percent of deaths, officials said, and Nigeria accounted for nearly 32 percent of global malaria fatalities.
Google and Uber delay office returns amid omicron uncertainty
Return to menuFor companies whose employees are still toiling from their couches at home, the question of when to bring their full workforces back to the office has become even trickier.
During a pandemic in which many decisions have hinged on risk tolerance, the coronavirus’s new omicron variant has complicated the process of calculating those hazards. Major corporations that had planned to shepherd all their employees back into offices in early 2022 now have to decide whether those dates make sense in light of further evidence of the pandemic’s unpredictability.
Last week, Google and Uber became two of the first major employers in the United States to announce that they would postpone their Jan. 10 return date — not to another specific day, but indefinitely. Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it was pushing its expected return from January to March.
U.S. pledges $400 million more toward international vaccination, for $1.6 billion total
Return to menuThe United States will commit $400 million more to help other countries vaccinate and to support their health-care systems, a top foreign aid official announced Monday, as global health leaders called urgently for more assistance.
Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said the latest investment would bring “total U.S. commitments on vaccine readiness and delivery to more than $1.6 billion.”
The announcement at a USAID conference came as the spread of the omicron variant has focused new attention on the huge gap between coronavirus vaccination rates in developing nations and wealthy countries such as the United States. Experts have long said lack of vaccine access in poorer countries is a moral outrage and a global risk, allowing conditions for new virus variants to emerge.
The additional $400 million will aid vaccine manufacturing and delivery in low- and middle-income countries, said Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
She said that while about 40 percent of the world is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, 3 percent of people in “low-income countries” have that protection.
“For the past year, the story of covid-19 around the world has been a struggle for vaccine equity — rich nations replete with doses while poorer nations fought to secure vaccines for their people,” Power said.
Speaking at the same event, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lamented that “the largest vaccination campaign in history” has been “marred by horrific inequity.” He said ACT-Accelerator — a WHO-supported initiative aimed at equitable distribution of coronavirus testing, treatments and vaccines — is “out of cash.”
The initiative needs $23.4 billion over the next year, Tedros said.
“As the omicron variant demonstrates, the pandemic is far from over,” he said. “Persistent vaccine inequity has allowed this to happen.”
CDC recommends at-home testing before indoor gatherings with those at higher risk
Return to menuThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave consumers additional information Monday on when and why to use at-home or over-the-counter coronavirus tests, suggesting individuals take the tests before indoor gatherings with people outside their households — especially those who might be at higher risk of infection or severe disease.
At-home tests that deliver results in as little as 15 minutes have become increasingly popular with consumers, and they are key to the Biden administration’s plan to battle the pandemic, especially the new and potentially more transmissible omicron variant. But consumers and public health experts have clamored for clearer information about the circumstances in which they should be used.
The latest guidance says the at-home tests can be used regardless of vaccination status or whether the person has symptoms of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“Even if you don’t have symptoms and have not been exposed to an individual with COVID-19, using a self-test before gathering indoors with others can give you information about the risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19,” the guidance states. “This is especially important before gathering with unvaccinated children, older individuals, those who are immunocompromised or individuals at risk of severe disease.”
A positive test means the test detected the virus and the person probably has an infection, should isolate for 10 days, wear a mask if they come in contact with others, and avoid indoor gatherings to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. A person can spread the virus to others as early as 48 hours before they have symptoms or test positive.
How to find the right coronavirus test for new U.S. travel rules
Return to menuThe United States on Monday began requiring all inbound international travelers to show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within a day of their flight to enter the country. The requirement is mandatory for anyone at least 2 years old, even American citizens and legal residents, regardless of vaccination status.
Previously, anyone flying into the United States needed to test before a trip, but their vaccination status determined their testing timeline. Vaccinated travelers had three days to get tested, while unvaccinated travelers had just one.
The updated testing requirements — along with the extension of federal mask mandates and the expansion of voluntary testing opportunities for new arrivals at some U.S. airports — aim to slow the spread of the emerging omicron variant.
The article linked below offers information about which types of tests are accepted, how to find a test abroad, how to arrange affordable tests, when to time a test, when to submit results and what happens if you test positive.
Americans’ blood pressure rose during pandemic, especially among women, study finds
Return to menuAmericans’ blood pressure rose during the pandemic — especially among women, according to new research that underscores the ways the coronavirus has exacted an uneven toll.
The finding on gender disparities, published Monday in the journal Circulation, “provides more evidence of the outsize burden that pandemics place on women,” researchers wrote.
But the spike in blood pressure was observed across genders and age groups, and it could foreshadow an increase in cardiovascular-disease deaths, they warned. The increase kicked in after March 2020, when the spread of the coronavirus began to prompt wide-ranging restrictions in the United States.
Blood pressure readings include two numbers: systolic pressure, measured when the heart beats, and diastolic pressure, measured when the heart rests. From April to December 2020, the study found, people’s systolic blood pressure was on average between 1.1 and 2.5 mm Hg higher each month compared with the previous year. (Millimeters of mercury, or mm Hg, is a measurement of pressure.) For diastolic blood pressure, average monthly increases ranged from 0.14 to 0.53 mm Hg.
Among middle-aged people, the researchers note, an increase in systolic blood pressure of 2 mm Hg “is associated with significant increases in mortality” from strokes and heart problems linked to narrowed arteries.
The study examined hundreds of thousands of adult participants in an “employer-sponsored wellness program” across the United States, but the researchers said it is not clear whether this pool was representative of American adults.
Weight gain was not the cause of the increases, the researchers said. They offered many possible reasons for the rise, including more alcohol consumption, less exercise and “emotional stress.” The pandemic “disrupted both daily life and routine medical care,” they said, including the treatment of “chronic diseases” such as high blood pressure.
Dow surges 650 points as Wall Street shakes off omicron fears
Return to menuU.S. stocks posted strong gains Monday as investors seized on signs that the omicron variant might be less of a threat to the global economy than feared.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 646.95 points, or 1.9 percent, to close at 35,227. The S&P 500 rose 53.24 points, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 4,591.67. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index jumped 139.68 points, or 0.9 percent, to end at 15,225.15.
Travel and hospitality shares led the way, with American, Delta and United climbing at least 6 percent. Norwegian Cruise Line spiked 9.5 percent. The gains come after preliminary data from South African researchers found coronavirus infections caused by the omicron variant were less severe than those caused by the now-dominant delta variant.
Anthony S. Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser, cautioned Monday on CNN that researchers needed more robust data before drawing conclusions about the threat posed by omicron, but he said South African data was “a bit encouraging.”
Omicron concerns set off waves of volatility on Wall Street last week, with the three major U.S. indexes all posting losses for the five-day run.
Man who contracted omicron, attended anime convention urges vaccination
Return to menuThe Minnesota man who tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronavirus after attending an anime convention in New York has just finished his quarantine, he said in an interview.
“I’m good to go,” said Peter McGinn, a 30-year-old health-care consultant from Minneapolis.
There is a lot McGinn still doesn’t know about his infection with omicron, including how he contracted it and whether the coronavirus cases among about 15 friends he saw in New York are also of the new variant.
One thing he does feel certain of is the value of vaccination. McGinn, who said he received Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine followed by a Moderna booster shot in early November, had only very mild symptoms and some fatigue, which he initially attributed to his exhausting trip to New York. It was only after a friend tested positive that he took a rapid test.
“I would recommend everyone, when they can, do get the booster,” McGinn said.
CDC warns against travel to France, Tanzania, Portugal and more
Return to menuFederal health authorities warned Monday against travel to several European countries as well as Jordan and Tanzania amid fears of the omicron coronavirus variant, telling people to make sure they are fully vaccinated if they must visit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said to avoid travel to Andorra, Cyprus, France, Liechtenstein and Portugal.
“Because of the current situation in France, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants,” one advisory reads.
These countries are only the latest to spur travel advisories. Last week, the CDC urged against travel to Niger, Papua New Guinea, Poland and Trinidad and Tobago.
The CDC also recently told airlines to share contact information for people entering the United States who have been in southern Africa, where the omicron variant was initially identified. Previously, the CDC had ordered airlines and aircraft operators to collect contact details on passengers and asked that they share it with federal health authorities “upon request,” to aid public health follow-up.
Key coronavirus updates from around the world
Return to menuHere’s what to know from news service reports about the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
- The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo warned in a post to Twitter on Monday that it had received reports of foreigners being stopped and searched in “suspected racial profiling incidents.” Hirokazu Matsuno, a Japanese government spokesperson, told Reuters that police were not profiling.
- Thailand, Nepal and Russia detected their first cases of omicron, officials said Monday. They join 38 countries where the World Health Organization said Friday the new variant has been identified.
- South Korea and Italy imposed harsher rules Monday on unvaccinated people. In South Korea, Reuters reports that some foreigners who were vaccinated abroad and entered the country under no-quarantine rules are being excluded from daily life as a result.
- A Supreme Court justice in Brazil ordered a probe Friday into comments by President Jair Bolsonaro on social media in October that getting a coronavirus vaccine may increase people’s chance of contracting AIDS.
- A Norwegian Cruise Line ship that stopped in Belize, Honduras and Mexico on its journey and returned to dock in New Orleans over the weekend reported that at least 17 passengers and crew members were infected with the coronavirus, according to local health officials, including one probable case of the omicron variant among the crew.
Cities around the world cancel end-of-year celebrations as omicron fears rise
Return to menuAs the omicron variant continues to quickly spread around the world, officials are scrambling to find the best ways to contain it, prompting some cities to take preemptive steps and cancel Christmas gatherings and year-end celebrations, crushing the hopes of many who looked forward to a return to normalcy.
In Brazil, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced Saturday that the city would follow state guidelines and cancel its official New Year’s Eve celebration. The event is one of the largest and most popular in the country and attracts some 3 million people to the city’s famous Copacabana beach for joyous dance, music and fireworks displays.
“We respect science,” Paes tweeted, adding that while local authorities had granted permission to carry on with the party, he’d rather abide by the more restrictive measure, even though the decision saddened him greatly, he said.
Rio de Janeiro followed the example of at least 21 other capital cities across the world that have announced they will not hold New Year’s celebrations because of the pandemic, according to media reports.
In India, authorities of the northeastern state of Odisha have banned large congregations in public places like hotels, restaurants for “Zero-Night” celebrations or any similar celebrations on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, according to local news reports.
In Europe, a dramatic wave of infections, mainly driven by the delta variant, has led authorities in numerous cities in Germany to cancel Christmas markets, including one of Germany’s largest in Dresden.
And with rising numbers of confirmed omicron cases across the continent added to the lingering uncertainty over the damage the variant could cause, a growing number of people have decided to minimize their holiday plans, with restaurants and businesses experiencing widespread cancellations of reservations for Christmas and end-of-year parties in France, London and Germany, according to Reuters.
In the United States, Baltimore officials announced last week that they had decided not to proceed with traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks — for the second year — after evaluating “logistics, costs and other considerations.”
“We are planning on returning to a more predictable, traditional schedule in 2022 as we continue to emerge from COVID-19 and resume normal event planning,” Ted Carter, the deputy mayor for community and economic development, said in a statement.
White House reevaluating travel bans against South African countries ‘on a daily basis’
Return to menuWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that federal health officials are evaluating travel bans against South Africa and seven other countries in Africa that were instituted last month after it was reported the new omicron coronavirus variant was circulating in southern Africa.
Psaki said Anthony S. Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, and other health and medical experts would have to recommend to the White House that the Biden administration should pull back those travel restrictions.
“And that’s something that’s being evaluated and discussed on a daily basis,” Psaki said.
The restrictions apply to travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe, but do not apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents.
On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Fauci said the ban was implemented “at a time when we were really in the dark” and had been intended to buy U.S. health officials more time to learn more about the omicron variant.
“We had no idea what was going on, except that there seemed to have been an explosion of cases of omicron in South Africa,” Fauci told host Jake Tapper. “We’re getting more and more information about cases in our own country and worldwide. We’re looking at that [ban] very carefully on a daily basis. Hopefully, we will be able to lift that ban within a quite reasonable period of time. I mean, we all feel very badly about the hardship that that might have put upon not only South Africa but the other African countries.”
Ford bumps back return to office, citing ‘fluid’ pandemic picture
Return to menuFord Motor announced Monday that it is pushing back plans to bring some employees back to the office, citing continuing uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic.
The nation’s second-largest automaker had planned to kick off its hybrid work program, which gives some employees flexibility in working at home or in the office, in January. Now, Ford says, it is aiming for March.
“The state of COVID-19 virus remains fluid, and despite the success of our ongoing safety protocols and increased vaccination rates, we are shifting the start date of the hybrid work model to March,” Ford told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post.
The decision affects only those whose work is “non-site-dependent,” according to Reuters. It does not include employees represented by the United Auto Workers union.
The vast majority of Ford’s 88,000 U.S. employees have returned to in-person work since the Michigan-based automaker idled factories in the early days of the pandemic. While wearing masks is mandatory inside Ford plants, it and other Big Three automakers have stopped short of requiring workers to be vaccinated.
The company is the latest to publicly adjust its workplace plans since the discovery of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. Last week, Google, one of the first businesses to ask employees to work from home in the pandemic, announced that it had “indefinitely” delayed its mandatory return to the office.
New York City expands vaccine mandate to all private-sector employers
Return to menuNew York City took a bold step Monday and announced a coronavirus vaccine mandate for all private employers as the city aims to fight the spread of the omicron variant, and after several cases among residents have been confirmed.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Monday morning that he had decided to launch a “preemptive strike” and impose the aggressive measure, which he described as the first of its kind in the nation, to help reduce further spread of the virus “and the dangers it’s causing to all of us,” and prevent the city from being hit with another wave of infections ahead of the winter holidays.
“Omicron is here, and it looks like it’s very transmissible,” he said in an interview with MSNBC. “The timing is horrible with the winter months.”
The city will also extend vaccine requirements for indoor dining, fitness and entertainment to include children ages 5 to 11 and bumped up the vaccine requirement for adults from one to two doses starting Dec. 27.
The measures come as cases in the city continue to rise. Since Nov. 1, the seven-day average number of coronavirus cases has increased almost 60 percent, according to city data.
De Blasio implemented a vaccine mandate for all city workers in October.