Live updates: French govt moves to speed up vaccine passes

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PARIS — France’s authorities is forging up with efforts to summation unit connected unvaccinated radical to get coronavirus jabs, arsenic the omicron variant fuels a grounds surge successful infections.

At a parliamentary proceeding connected Wednesday afternoon, the wellness curate plans to support a French authorities program to let lone afloat vaccinated individuals entree to places specified arsenic restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas.

Speeding up the instauration of the alleged “vaccine pass” forms portion of a authorities strategy to usage vaccinations, alternatively than caller lockdowns, to effort to soften the interaction of the fast-spreading omicron variant connected already overburdened hospitals.

France reported astir 180,000 caller COVID-19 cases connected Tuesday, a regular record, and is bracing for the fig to support increasing, with forecasts informing of much than 250,000 regular infections apt by January.

France has vaccinated much than 75% of its colonisation and is rushing retired booster shots, but much than 4 cardinal adults successful the state stay unvaccinated.

The authorities wants the vaccine walk request to beryllium successful spot by mid-January. If approved by parliament, the program would mean that unvaccinated radical volition nary longer beryllium capable to usage antagonistic trial results to sojourn places wherever the walk is required.

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

— Asia keeps omicron astatine bay, but a surge whitethorn beryllium inevitable

— WHO: Global COVID cases up 11% past week, omicron hazard high

— California 1st US authorities to apical 5M cases amid omicron surge

— Stricter Canadian rules complicate NHL propulsion done pandemic

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

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is extending measures to defender against the omicron variant of the coronavirus for different 4 weeks.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Wednesday that short-term overseas travelers from 11 African countries volition proceed to beryllium banned from entering the country, portion each different planetary arrivals volition beryllium required to observe a 10-day quarantine until Feb. 3.

The bureau says South Korea reported 109 caller regular COVID-19 cases involving the omicron variant, the highest 24-hour tally since the state confirmed its archetypal omicron lawsuit connected Dec. 1.

The delta variant inactive accounts for the immense bulk of caller cases successful South Korea, but experts accidental omicron could go the country’s ascendant strain successful the adjacent fewer months.

South Korea registered a full of 5,409 caller cases connected Wednesday, and the fig of critically oregon earnestly sick patients reached a grounds precocious of 1,151.

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JERUSALEM — Israel has lifted its question prohibition connected dozens of European and African countries, including Italy and Germany, adjacent arsenic the country’s coronavirus corruption complaint continues to surge.

But the Israeli government’s Corona Cabinet approved red-listing Mexico connected Wednesday, adding it to a question prohibition that includes the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

Israel mostly closed its borders to question pursuing the emergence of the highly infectious omicron variant past month. It has seen caller regular infections much than treble successful the past week, contempt a palmy vaccination campaign.

More than 4.2 cardinal of Israel’s 9.3 cardinal radical person received a coronavirus booster changeable since they were authorized successful July. Earlier this week, a large infirmary started a proceedings to survey the effect of a 4th dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine connected aesculapian personnel.

Israel has recorded astatine slightest 8,243 deaths from coronavirus since the commencement of the pandemic astir 2 years ago.

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BERLIN — Germany’s planetary improvement curate says her state plans to donate different 75 cardinal doses of coronavirus vaccines to poorer countries.

Minister Svenja Schulze told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland paper radical successful comments published Wednesday that Germany reached its people of donating 100 cardinal doses successful 2021.

She added: “But we can’t permission it there. For adjacent year, we program a further donation of astatine slightest 75 cardinal doses.”

Schulze said she agrees with Germany’s wellness curate that the donations can’t travel astatine the disbursal of the country’s ain vaccination campaign, which officials are moving to support successful precocious cogwheel arsenic the caller omicron variant advances.

But she said “we hold that we tin execute some things: supplying our ain colonisation and that of poorer countries.”

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SYDNEY — Coronavirus cases surged crossed Australia connected Wednesday arsenic an outbreak of the omicron variant exploded, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to docket an exigency nationalist furniture meeting.

The surge has already overwhelmed investigating stations, prompted caller vaccine mandates and caused astatine slightest 1 authorities to chopped backmost connected elective surgeries.

New infections successful Sydney and surrounding parts of New South Wales authorities skyrocketed to much than 11,000, up from 6,000 a time earlier. Victoria authorities besides reported a grounds 3,700 cases, up by much than 1,000 from the erstwhile grounds acceptable connected Tuesday.

Morrison said the nation’s leaders would conscionable up of docket connected Thursday.

“As omicron continues to spell guardant we volition spot further pressures, but states and territories are moving precise intimately connected their plans to woody with those challenges,” Morrison told reporters.

He said helium hoped the gathering would assistance springiness a clearer explanation connected what constituted a adjacent interaction and which tests should beryllium utilized successful antithetic circumstances arsenic lawsuit numbers ballooned.

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NEW YORK — The Broadway revival of “The Music Man” has been 1 of the hottest tickets successful municipality and it has limped on without co-star Sutton Foster. But present the amusement is being shuttered until the caller twelvemonth due to the fact that Hugh Jackman has tested affirmative for the coronavirus.

Jackman took to societal media Tuesday to denote that helium had tested positive. He says that though his symptoms are mild with lone a scratchy pharynx and a runny nose, helium needs to quarantine.

Some Broadway shows person closed for respective days and immoderate person folded wholly due to the fact that of microorganism cases “Thoughts of a Colored Man” joined “Waitress” and “Jagged Little Pill” arsenic shows that person closed this wintertime owed successful portion to rising corruption rates.

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HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii volition behaviour mostly online classes for the archetypal 2 weeks of the outpouring semester arsenic the authorities watches a surge successful omicron coronavirus cases.

Hawaii has had all-time grounds precocious regular COVID-19 numbers successful caller days. University of Hawaii officials accidental that campuses crossed the islands volition temporarily determination galore classes to online instruction.

In an email to students and staff, University of Hawaii President David Lassner says lone classes that tin beryllium “effectively taught online” volition change.

Other classes volition beryllium taught successful idiosyncratic but with carnal distancing, disguise wearing and wellness screenings successful place

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ATLANTA — Emory University’s president said Tuesday the schoolhouse is switching to virtual classes to commencement the outpouring semester due to the fact that of a nationalist surge successful COVID cases fueled by the omicron variant.

In a missive to the assemblage community, President Gregory Fenves said Emory volition modulation backmost to in-person learning connected January 31 if conditions licence that.

The power to distant learning applies to undergraduate, postgraduate and nonrecreational courses. Residence halls volition stay open, though students are encouraged to hold their instrumentality to campus.

COVID-19 infections successful the Atlanta area, wherever Emory is located, are climbing rapidly.

The seven-day mean of COVID-19 cases successful Georgia roseate to astir 8,700 a time connected Monday, according to the authorities Public Health Department. That’s nearing the peaks that Georgia saw successful corruption numbers successful aboriginal January and aboriginal September.

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