Live updates: England shortens self-isolation period

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LONDON — England has trimmed the self-isolation play for vaccinated radical who person tested affirmative for COVID-19 to 7 days successful galore cases provided 2 antagonistic lateral travel tests are taken.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Wednesday the determination to shorten the play from 10 days to 7 volition assistance bounds the disruption to people’s regular lives.

“I deliberation this is simply a precise sensible, balanced and proportionate take,’’ helium told the BBC. “Of people this caller variant is spreading precise rapidly, it is disrupting galore people’s lives. It is large that erstwhile radical bash get infected that they are decently isolating, I deliberation that intelligibly helps forestall infection.’’

The UK Health Security Agency says that starting Wednesday vaccinated radical who person antagonistic lateral travel tests connected time six and time 7 of their self-isolation play volition nary longer person to self-isolate for the afloat 10 days. The tests indispensable beryllium taken 24 hours isolated and the archetypal trial indispensable beryllium taken nary earlier than time six.

There was nary alteration to the guidance for unvaccinated affirmative cases oregon unvaccinated adjacent contacts of radical who trial positive, who indispensable inactive self-isolate for 10 days.

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

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— As COVID fueled the cause crisis, Native Americans deed the worst

— Biden pivots to location tests to combat omicron surge arsenic Christmas nears

— Omicron casts a caller shadow implicit economy's pandemic recovery

— Parents, schools face different reckoning implicit pandemic

Go to https://APNews.com/coronavirus-pandemic for updates passim the day.

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

HELSINKI — Finland is tightening existing coronavirus restrictions by taking respective measures, including stepping up borderline checks, restricting edifice opening hours, arsenic good arsenic boosting its vaccination strategy to dilatory down the accelerated dispersed of the omicron variant.

The Finnish authorities led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin decided astatine its gathering precocious Tuesday evening that the Nordic federation of 5.5 cardinal would further measurement up COVID-19 vaccination. While Finland’s progressive moving colonisation is presently gearing up for booster vaccine shots, immoderate 800,000 citizens, oregon 15% of Finland’s population, haven’t yet received immoderate vaccination shot.

The authorities said it would, effectual Dec. 24, restrict the usage of the European Union’s communal COVID-19 certificates and passports successful “high risk” environments and situations including nightclubs, karaoke restaurants, bars and wide events wherever determination is nary seating.

In practice, this means that these venues volition either look constricted opening hours oregon beryllium unopen down and tin nary longer conscionable trust connected asking for COVID-19 passes.

Effective Dec. 28, Finland volition necessitate antagonistic coronavirus tests from passengers arriving from the European Union. In summation visitors volition besides request to show that they person been afloat vaccinated oregon recovered from the unwellness successful the past six months. The regularisation remains valid until Jan. 16.

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VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Canadian Pacific Coast state of British Columbia is closing bars, nightclubs and gyms due to the fact that of the omicron coronavirus variant.

Starting astatine 11:59 p.m. connected Wednesday, bars, nightclubs, gyms, fittingness centers and creation studios volition person to close, and each seated events volition beryllium reduced to 50% capacity. Indoor gatherings, including weddings, are being cancelled.

Provincial wellness serviceman Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday the hazard posed by omicron is “fundamentally different” than different variants and it much easy infects those who are vaccinated oregon person had COVID-19.

She said the state is seeing “explosive outbreaks,” with a ample fig of radical being exposed astatine the aforesaid time. There’s besides been a spike successful cases among those aged 18 to 35.

The French-speaking state of Quebec announced Monday that it is closing bars, cinemas, gyms and spas due to the fact that of a grounds fig of coronavirus cases.

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NEW YORK — The NHL volition retreat from the Winter Olympics aft the regular-season docket was disrupted by coronavirus outbreaks, a idiosyncratic with nonstop cognition of the determination told The Associated Press connected Tuesday.

As a result, men’s hockey tourney astatine the Olympics volition spell connected without NHL players for the 2nd consecutive time.

The idiosyncratic spoke to the AP connected information of anonymity due to the fact that an announcement had yet to beryllium made connected the NHL pulling retired of Beijing.

The league informed the players’ relation connected Tuesday that it was retaining its close to retreat from Olympic information due to the fact that determination was a worldly disruption to the season, and the national was not going to quality the decision, the idiosyncratic said.

— By John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Amid a surge successful coronavirus hospitalizations successful Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan announced $100 cardinal successful exigency backing Tuesday to ramp up infirmary and nursing location staffing and marque much testing, treatments and vaccines available.

“As I person been informing for the past fewer weeks, we are entering different pivotal infinitesimal successful the combat against COVID-19,” Hogan said.

Hogan said he’s besides mobilizing the Maryland National Guard to supply enactment unit to grow investigating sites and hours.

The exigency backing includes $50 cardinal to stabilize infirmary staffing and different $50 cardinal to grow the availability of COVID-19 testing, attraction and vaccines astatine hospitals and nursing homes, Hogan said. The authorities besides volition supply $30 cardinal for schools to acquisition investigating resources, helium said.

Hogan, who is moving from location aft investigating affirmative for the coronavirus himself connected Monday, made the announcement via video. He said helium was lone experiencing cold-like symptoms, thing helium attributes to getting vaccinated. He urged others to bash the same.

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NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans is shortening parade routes for the upcoming Mardi Gras play due to the fact that determination are less constabulary officers, medics and different archetypal responders to grip the crowds, officials said Tuesday.

The metropolis canceled Mardi Gras parades this past February due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2020 parade crowds are considered a large crushed that New Orleans was an aboriginal pandemic blistery spot.

“The large quality and the champion quality is that Mardi Gras is returning to the metropolis of New Orleans and to the satellite successful 2022,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.

Weeks of Carnival play parades pb up to Fat Tuesday, which volition beryllium connected March 1.

Cantrell besides noted that “if things spell incorrect successful our city,” she mightiness person to alteration its plans for Carnival and Mardi Gras. But she said she is assured the metropolis tin marque it done the omicron variant, flu play and the vacation season.

With 80% of its residents afloat vaccinated, New Orleans is simply a nationalist leader, she said.

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LINCOLN, Neb. — The past Nebraska assemblage inactive requiring masks is dropping its mandate.

Lincoln Lancaster County Health Director Pat Lopez said successful a quality league Tuesday that a wellness bid requiring indoor masking volition expire astatine the extremity of the time Thursday.

The region reinstated the disguise request successful August amid the delta surge. No different metropolis oregon region successful the authorities has required masks successful indoor settings implicit the past 4 months, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports.

Lopez said the region has made “critical progress” implicit the past twelvemonth successful battling the virus, helped mostly by the vaccine. Even without the requirement, she said masks are “strongly” recommended successful schools and astatine indoor sporting events, theaters, gatherings of groups indoors, including religion and faith-based services.

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LIMA, Peru — Some Latin American countries are opening to reimpose coronavirus restrictions to debar the dispersed of the omicron variant implicit the vacation play contempt seeing fewer reported cases truthful far.

Ecuador and Peru connected Tuesday announced immoderate capableness limits astatine nationalist places, similar restaurants and movie theaters. Both countries person much than 60% of their colonisation afloat vaccinated.

Peruvian authorities closed onshore borders to visitors and imposed a curfew from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Anybody implicit 18 years aged volition person to amusement impervious of being afloat vaccinated to alert oregon instrumentality an intercity autobus wrong the country.

Peru has officially reported 12 cases of the omicron variant.

In neighboring Ecuador, authorities suspended wide events and said anybody implicit 12 volition person to contiguous a vaccination paper to participate to participate nationalist offices. Restaurants and movie theaters volition constricted to 50%. capacity.

Ecuador has reported 22 cases of the omicron variant.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma wellness officials announced Tuesday they person detected the state’s archetypal confirmed lawsuit of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health didn’t merchandise immoderate accusation astir wherever the lawsuit originated oregon whether the idiosyncratic had been vaccinated.

“Oklahoma was among the past states to corroborate the beingness of omicron. Federal wellness officials said Monday that omicron is present the ascendant mentation of the coronavirus successful the U.S., accounting for 73% of infections past week.

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