Live updates: 2,300 U.S. flights cancelled amid outbreak

2 years ago 315

DALLAS -- For aerial travelers, the caller twelvemonth picked up wherever the aged 1 near disconnected – with tons of frustration. By midmorning Saturday connected the East Coast, much than 2,300 U.S. flights had been canceled, according to tracking work FlightAware. That’s the highest single-day toll yet since airlines began blaming staffing shortages connected expanding COVID-19 infections among crews conscionable earlier Christmas. Saturday’s disruptions weren’t conscionable owed to the virus, however. Wintry upwind made Chicago the worst spot successful the state for travelers, with 800 flights scrubbed astatine O’Hare Airport and much than 250 astatine Midway Airport. Southwest had canceled much than 450 flights, oregon 13% of its schedule. SkyWest, which operates flights arsenic American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, grounded much than 400 flights, oregon 21% of its schedule. American, Delta, United and JetBlue each scrubbed much than 100 flights each.

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

— Dozens of U.S. colleges determination classes online temporarily to antagonistic surge of infections

— Muted New Year’s Eve celebrations astir the world arsenic omicron rages on

— US children hospitalized with COVID successful grounds numbers

— UK estimates 1 successful 15 had microorganism successful London earlier Christmas amid omicron surge

— New COVID-19 cases successful US soar to highest levels connected record

___

Follow AP’s pandemic sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

___

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

LISBON, Portugal — A cruise vessel carrying implicit 4,000 radical has been held successful the Portuguese superior of Lisbon aft a COVID-19 outbreak infected unit members, the German quality bureau dpa reported Saturday.

German institution Aida Cruises told dpa that it discovered the affirmative coronavirus cases during regular wellness checks and has accommodated those infected ashore successful coordination with Portuguese authorities successful Lisbon.

Portuguese media reported that 52 members of the unit of implicit 1,000 workers tested positive. None of the astir 3,000 passengers had tested positive. All connected committee had passed a screening trial and were vaccinated with 2 doses earlier the vessel acceptable sail from Germany.

The vessel is waiting for the accomplishment of caller unit members to proceed its travel to Spain’s Canary Islands, dpa said.

___

BOSTON — With COVID-19 cases surging conscionable arsenic students are astir to instrumentality from wintertime break, dozens of U.S. colleges are moving classes online again for astatine slightest the archetypal week oregon truthful of the semester — and immoderate pass it could agelong longer if the question of corruption doesn’t subside soon.

Harvard is moving classes online for the archetypal 3 weeks of the caller year, with a instrumentality to field scheduled for precocious January, “conditions permitting.” The University of Chicago is delaying the opening of its caller word and holding the archetypal 2 weeks online. Some others are inviting students backmost to field but starting classes online, including Michigan State University.

Many colleges anticipation that an other week oregon 2 volition get them past the highest of the nationwide spike driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. Still, the surge is casting uncertainty implicit a semester galore had hoped would beryllium the closest to mean since the commencement of the pandemic.

For immoderate U.S. students, starting the word remotely is becoming regular — galore colleges utilized the strategy past year. But immoderate fearfulness the latest displacement could widen good beyond a week oregon two.

Jake Maynard, a pupil astatine George Washington University successful the nation’s capital, said helium is good with a week of online classes, but beyond that, helium hopes officials spot successful the booster shots and supply a accepted assemblage experience.

___

TOKYO — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito offered prayers for those who died during the pandemic, taking to video for the 2nd consecutive twelvemonth for his New Year’s greeting connected Saturday, having canceled nationalist palace gatherings to curb coronavirus infections.

Sitting earlier a bonsai histrion with his woman Masako, Naruhito praised and thanked doctors and different wellness attraction workers, and expressed interest for countries lacking entree to vaccines and capable infirmary systems.

“By treasuring much than ever the connections among people, sharing our symptom and supporting each other, I anticipation from the bottommost of my bosom that we volition flooded these hard times,” helium said.

Japan has recorded much than 18,000 COVID-19-related deaths, but the gait of deaths has fallen successful caller months. Naruhito besides voiced worries astir the fast-spreading omicron variant.

—-

LAS VEGAS — The yearly CES gadget normal volition beryllium 3 days alternatively of 4 amid a leap successful COVID-19 cases and the withdrawal of immoderate of its best-known tech presenters.

Convention organizer The Consumer Technology Association announced Friday that CES volition tally from Jan. 5-7, 1 time shorter than planned. The lawsuit inactive has implicit 2,200 exhibitors confirmed to amusement disconnected their products astatine the Las Vegas convention, spokeswoman Jeanne Abella said.

The announcement follows the withdrawal of tech giants from CES past week citing wellness risks of the omicron variant, including cellphone carriers similar T-Mobile, whose CEO had been slated to present a keynote speech.

Computer shaper Lenovo and societal media companies similar Twitter and Facebook genitor institution Meta besides canceled plans to attend. News outlets including CNN said they would cancel oregon trim coverage.

CES was held wholly virtually past year. It volition beryllium a hybrid of online and in-person this year, with organizers offering integer registration allowing entree to astir 40 livestreamed events, Abella said.

___

TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention connected Friday reported much than 75,900 caller cases of COVID-19 successful Florida.

That tally raises the 7-day mean regular to 42,600, which is doubly arsenic precocious arsenic it was astatine the highest of this summer’s surge erstwhile the delta variant fueled a surge of infections successful the state.

Friday’s study marks a single-day grounds for the fig of caller cases successful Florida. It breaks the grounds acceptable a time earlier erstwhile much than 58,000 cases were reported successful the state. The omicron variant of the coronavirus has spiked successful Florida and crossed the federation implicit the past fewer weeks.

Soaring numbers during the vacation play person sent tens of thousands of radical to COVID-19 investigating centers crossed Florida, resulting successful agelong lines successful galore areas.

Three radical collapsed portion waiting successful enactment astatine a Tampa investigating tract connected Friday morning.

____

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Hundreds of unvaccinated employees who enactment astatine nationalist colleges and universities successful Nevada were being fired Friday, a time aft the authorities Board of Regents voted to support a unit vaccine mandate successful effect.

The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents connected Thursday deadlocked 6-6 connected a measurement to repeal the unit vaccine mandate and past rejected a measurement to propulsion the effectual termination day backmost 2 weeks. Without bulk enactment for a repeal, the mandate — which Gov. Steve Sisolak and the Nevada Faculty Alliance enactment — remained successful effect.

Higher acquisition officials said connected Friday that 379 employees were being terminated, 188 attribution employees ended their contracts and 18 much voluntarily resigned. Employees who are fired tin question reinstatement if they amusement impervious of vaccination successful January, regents said.

___

PARIS — Describing himself arsenic “resolutely optimistic,” French President Emmanuel Macron has utilized the past New Year’s code of his existent word to explicit the anticipation that, with vaccinations, 2022 volition spot the extremity of the coronavirus pandemic.

Macron stopped abbreviated of saying that helium volition basal for re-election successful April. He said lone that helium intends to proceed serving the French “whatever my spot and the circumstances.”

The president appealed to the 5 cardinal unvaccinated but eligible radical successful France to get coronavirus jabs, saying: “All of France is counting connected you.”

France has mislaid 123,000 radical to COVID-19 and caller cases are astatine unprecedented levels, surging with the highly contagious omicron variant. France reported a grounds 232,200 caller cases connected Friday, its 3rd time moving supra the 200,000 mark.

___

ROME — Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, has utilized the past New Year’s Eve code of his word instrumentality to task those who “waste” opportunities to person a COVID-19 vaccine, calling that prime an “offense” to each those who haven’t been capable to person the injection.

In a televised code to the federation Friday night, Mattarella, who is caput of state, noted that helium was serving successful the last days of his seven-year term, with Parliament to elite his successor successful the archetypal weeks of 2022. Referring to caller COVID-19 surges successful Italy and galore different countries driven by microorganism variants, Mattarella noted a “sense of frustration” implicit the setbacks.

___

ALBANY, N.Y. — Federal ambulance teams and further National Guard members are headed for New York City, and occidental New York hospitals are getting much national assistance arsenic coronavirus cases and hospitalizations support rising.

State officials announced the caller deployments Friday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul besides said students astatine authorities universities and the City University of New York volition person to get coronavirus vaccine booster shots to beryllium connected field successful the outpouring semester and indispensable trial antagonistic earlier returning from the vacation break.

New confirmed lawsuit counts person been breaking records by the time successful the state, topping 76,500 connected Thursday, Hochul said astatine a quality briefing.

An mean of 53,000 New Yorkers a time tested affirmative successful the week that ended Thursday, compared to 13,000 per time 2 weeks earlier. Over 7,900 radical with COVID-19 are hospitalized statewide, up 67% successful a week.

___

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas officials connected Friday requested national assistance for accrued COVID-19 investigating and attraction pursuing reports that the authorities is moving debased connected the antibody attraction that has proved astir effectual against the omicron variant.

In a statement, Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Division for Emergency Management and the Texas Department of State Health Services made the request.

They are seeking national resources for further COVID-19 investigating locations successful six counties, accrued aesculapian unit and much sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody attraction that has proved astir effectual against the more-transmissible omicron.

Abbott called connected the Biden medication “to measurement up successful this combat and supply the resources indispensable to assistance support Texans.”

___

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Novavax Inc. said it filed information Friday with the Food and Drug Administration to enactment clearance of its long-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine, a antithetic benignant of changeable than existent U.S. options.

Novavax said the information bundle is the past request earlier the institution formally submits its emergency-use exertion adjacent period to go the 4th U.S. COVID-19 vaccine. The announcement comes soon aft the European Commission and World Health Organization cleared usage of the Maryland-based company’s two-dose shot.

Novavax developed a macromolecule vaccine, akin to shots utilized for years against different diseases and a strategy that mightiness entreaty to radical hesitant to usage COVID-19 vaccines made with newer technologies. But Novavax, a tiny biotech company, faced months of delays successful uncovering manufacturers to mass-produce its vaccine.

___

ROME — Italian wellness officials are informing that the complaint of concern by COVID-19 patients of infirmary beds some successful intensive attraction units and successful regular wards has surpassed the “critical level” nationally.

A apical Health Ministry official, Gianni Rezza, besides said connected Friday evening that the incidence of cases is growing, with 783 confirmed COVID-19 infections per each 100,000 residents successful Italy. The state deed different precocious for regular caller caseloads — 144,243 confirmed cases successful the past 24 hours.

Nearly 12% of immoderate 1.234 cardinal swab tests conducted since Thursday resulted positive, according to the ministry, which urged vaccinated persons to get a booster changeable if they are eligible.

With the federation slammed by a surge of infections mostly driven by the omicron variant, the authorities banned nationalist New Year’s Eve celebrations.

___

DALLAS — Flight cancellations surged again connected the past time of 2021, with airlines blaming it connected unit shortages related to the spike successful COVID-19 infections.

By precocious greeting Friday connected the East Coast, airlines scrubbed much than 1,300 flights, according to tracking work FlightAware. That compared with astir 1,400 cancellations for each of Thursday.

The remnants of the delta variant and the emergence of the caller omicron variant pushed the complaint of caller regular infections successful the U.S. good supra 200,000 a day, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Read Entire Article