Live updates: Israel begins administering 4th vaccine dose

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JERUSALEM — Israel has begun delivering a 4th vaccine dose for radical astir susceptible to coronavirus, becoming 1 of the archetypal countries to bash truthful arsenic it prepares for a question of infections driven by the omicron variant.

Israel, which led a satellite beating vaccination programme successful 2020, volition administer a 4th dose of the vaccine to individuals with weakened immune systems on with aged residents and employees successful attraction homes.

The rollout of the 4th dose began astatine Israel’s Sheba Medical Center Friday greeting and was administered to bosom and lung transplant patients.

The state is presently experiencing a caller question of infections fueled by the transmissible omicron variant. There were 4,085 caller cases recorded connected Thursday, the highest regular number of infections Israel has seen since precocious September.

In response, Israel introduced caller restrictions precocious Thursday successful a bid to curb rising corruption rates up of caller year’s eve celebrations. These see a Green Pass, fixed to afloat vaccinated individuals oregon those who person precocious recovered from coronavirus, for outdoor events of much than 100 radical and mandatory mask-wearing successful outdoor events of much than 50 people.

Israel, a state of 9.3 cardinal people, has reported 8,243 deaths from the coronavirus since the commencement of the pandemic. Most of its colonisation — much than 6.5 cardinal radical — has received astatine slightest 1 dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and much than 4.2 cardinal Israelis person received 2 doses and a booster.

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

— US children hospitalized with COVID successful grounds numbers

— U.S. wellness officials press nursing location workers to get booster shots

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

— Do at-home COVID-19 tests observe the omicron variant?

— Canadian provinces follow restrictions amid regular lawsuit records

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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 says it’ll widen the toughest societal distancing rules for different 2 weeks to effort to little captious cases and defender against the omicron variant.

The authorities said Friday the existent restrictions specified arsenic a four-person bounds connected backstage gatherings and a 9 p.m. curfew connected restaurants and cafes volition proceed until Jan. 16.

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol says South Korea’s regular caseload has precocious dropped to the 5,000s from the erstwhile 8,000s acknowledgment to the existent distancing guidelines enforced 2 weeks ago.

But helium says the fig of critically oregon earnestly sick patients remains supra 1,000. Kwon says the omicron variant besides continues to dispersed passim South Korea and that it’s hard to forestall it from becoming the ascendant strain successful South Korea.

On Friday, South Korea added 4,875 caller COVID-19 cases, pushing the nationalist tally to 630,838. Health authorities said they’ve besides confirmed 269 caller cases of the omicron variant, taking the country’s full to 894.

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NEW YORK — A coronavirus surge has upended plans to clasp a large atomic pact league astatine the United Nations adjacent month, with participants agreeing Thursday to postpone the gathering days earlier its scheduled start.

After astir 2 years of pandemic delays, delegations from astir the satellite were owed to converge Tuesday connected U.N. office to instrumentality banal of the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty, a pillar of atomic arms control.

But organizers are present penciling successful an Aug. 1 commencement date, according to an email Thursday from the U.N. disarmament bureau to entities involved. The league was initially scheduled for outpouring 2020.

As coronavirus cases spike again successful the U.N.’s big metropolis of New York and a increasing fig of staffers are sick oregon or quarantined, the satellite assemblage told the league person Monday that it couldn’t accommodate a large gathering now.

The NPT is the world’s astir wide ratified atomic arms power agreement, with 191 participating countries. Nations without atomic weapons committed not to get them and to let verification that atomic vigor programs weren’t morphing into weaponry. Countries that had nukes erstwhile the pact was signed — the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China -- agreed to determination toward eliminating them.

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TORONTO — Quebec is reimposing a nighttime curfew opening New Year’s Eve, and Ontario has delayed the resumption of schoolhouse by 2 days arsenic respective Canadian provinces study caller highs for COVID-19 infections.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the curfew volition beryllium successful effect 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. arsenic of Friday nighttime and volition tally for an indefinite period.

Quebec imposed a pandemic-related nightly curfew past Jan. 9 and did not assistance the measurement until May 28. It has been the lone Canadian state to bid a curfew implicit the coronavirus.

In Ontario, classes had been scheduled to resume Monday but that has been pushed backmost to Wednesday. Officials accidental that volition springiness schools clip to supply N95 masks to unit and deploy much HEPA filter units.

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HONOLULU — Hawaii acceptable an all-time grounds for caller coronavirus cases connected Thursday arsenic the authorities of astir 1.5 cardinal radical reported astir 3,500 caller infections.

The regular full of caller cases reported by wellness officials was 3,484, topping the grounds of 2,205 cases acceptable the time aft Christmas. The authorities was averaging conscionable implicit 100 caller cases a time astatine the opening of the month.

The latest surge came astir 2 weeks aft the archetypal omicron variant lawsuit was confirmed successful Hawaii.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said determination would beryllium nary caller restrictions connected Oahu implicit the New Year holiday. He said radical should instrumentality idiosyncratic work to curb the disease.

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SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico is moving abbreviated of escaped at-home accelerated tests to observe COVID-19 infections arsenic the authorities struggles with the dispersed of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The institution that runs the state’s programme said Thursday that the state’s proviso of tests was overstretched. The announcement came hours aft Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote that residents could “order a investigating kit today.”

By day “all disposable tests person been shipped” and Vault Health was offering paid investigating instead. The authorities reported an further 2,209 cases of COVID-19 connected Thursday and 26 further deaths.

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NEW ORLEANS -- Louisiana is mounting records for caller COVID-19 diagnoses, and the state’s omicron variant surge is conscionable beginning, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday.

Thursday’s 24-hour full of 12,467 caller cases was much than a 3rd supra Wednesday’s 9,378, Edwards said during a quality league livestreamed connected Zoom.

He said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday’s fig was itself a authorities record, topping 7,548 acceptable successful August, during the delta variant surge.

Edwards says the fig of radical hospitalized with the microorganism has risen 268% since Dec. 17, to 762.

The politician said helium would not mandate masks unless specified an bid is needed to support hospitals from being overwhelmed. But helium said radical should heed masking recommendations from some the CDC and the authorities Department of Health.

Wearing a disguise is simply a insignificant inconvenience “compared to being successful a infirmary struggling to get oxygen oregon watching a loved 1 struggling to get oxygen,” helium said.

He and different authorities and infirmary officials astir southbound and cardinal Louisiana repeatedly urged everyone to instrumentality precautions specified arsenic getting vaccinations and booster shots.

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JACKSON, MISS. — Mississippi’s Supreme Court main justness issued an exigency bid Thursday allowing judges to postpone assemblage trials done mid-January due to the fact that of the caller surge successful COVID-19 cases.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph’s bid besides allows courts to usage teleconferencing, videoconferencing and physics filing to bounds in-person interaction successful courts. Felony plea, felony sentencing and probation usurpation hearings tin beryllium conducted remotely.

The bid is an hold of information regulations that were already successful place. Emergency Administrative Order 25 is the 4th exigency bid issued by the main justness since August which allows judges to postpone assemblage trials.

In his astir caller order, Randolph cited the caller uptick successful cases — particularly the highly contagious omicron variant.

As of Dec. 14, determination were 575 caller COVID-19 confirmed infections successful Mississippi. Approximately 2 weeks later, the fig of confirmed cases accrued much than eightfold, to 4,885 cases, Randolph said.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With a caller and much infectious coronavirus variant sweeping California, attorneys representing inmates accidental violations of wellness orders by situation unit hazard a repetition of the outbreaks that killed dozens successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the pandemic.

The astir caller statistic amusement ample percentages of employees who are required to beryllium tested doubly play aren’t doing so, and astir look nary consequences.

Corrections officials accidental they are updating those figures but person not yet provided caller data.

Officials are temporarily shutting down admissions to Wasco State Prison successful the San Joaquin Valley wherever determination person been much than 150 caller infections successful the past 2 weeks. Starting Monday, officials accidental inmates statewide indispensable beryllium afloat vaccinated to person in-person oregon household visits, unless they person approved spiritual oregon aesculapian exemptions.

The actions travel arsenic caller cases soar crossed California and authorities models foretell a gradual summation successful hospitalizations and intensive attraction admissions implicit the adjacent month.

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SEATTLE — A Seattle-area aesculapian strategy says it volition soon bounds COVID-19 investigating appointments astatine its assemblage investigating sites due to the fact that of an “astronomically high” positivity rate.

The Seattle Times reports UW Medicine said Thursday appointments volition beryllium constricted to lone those with symptoms oregon known exposures. Of UW Medicine’s 12 assemblage investigating sites, 9 volition soon commencement limiting appointments. Three volition adjacent temporarily.

The positivity complaint is measuring much than 40% astatine immoderate South King County investigating sites and the precocious complaint is slowing scientists’ quality to parse retired which samples are really positive.

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