Live updates: Spain sets pandemic record for new cases

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MADRID — Spain is dealing with the highest ever fig of coronavirus infections, with immoderate regions considering further curbs connected societal beingness up of the extremity of the year.

Updating pandemic figures for the archetypal clip successful 4 days, wellness authorities reported 214,619 caller cases precocious connected Monday, bringing the 14-day nationalist caseload to a pandemic grounds level of 1,206 caller infections per 100,000 residents. At the tallness of the January surge, which until present was the 1 that infected astir radical successful Spain, the complaint had surged to 900.

The explosive spike is mostly blamed connected the omicron variant, which scientists accidental spreads faster than erstwhile strains though the fig of infected patients who request infirmary attraction is proportionally little than successful erstwhile surges. Official information shows that 7.5% of Spanish infirmary beds and 18% of intensive attraction units are treating COVID-19 patients.

Authorities reported 120 caller deaths since Dec. 23.

In effect to the soaring caseload, immoderate Spanish regions are present considering restrictions they resisted lone a week ago, erstwhile authorities lone imposed mandatory disguise wearing outdoors.

The bluish regions of Navarra, Aragón and Cantabria, among others, are present limiting nightlife, imposing curfews oregon considering caps connected members of antithetic households allowed to stitchery together.

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

— Undertakers, rabbis join planetary fight promoting COVID shot

— US officials urge shorter COVID isolation, quarantine

— Fauci: US should see vaccine mandate for US aerial travel

— In eastbound Germany, pastors propulsion for shots contempt protests

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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:

NEW DELHI — India has granted exigency usage authorization for 2 vaccines and 1 COVID-19 pill, the wellness curate tweeted connected Tuesday, arsenic authorities pass astir the dispersed of the omicron variant crossed the country.

The archetypal is Covovax, the Serum Institute of India’s mentation of the Novavax vaccine, a two-dose changeable made with lab-grown copies of the spike macromolecule that coats the coronavirus. The 2nd is Corbevax, made by Indian steadfast Biological-E, which the wellness curate said is the country’s archetypal indigenously developed protein-based vaccine against COVID-19.

It besides granted exigency usage support for Molnupiravir, an antiviral drug, that volition beryllium manufactured by 13 companies successful India and volition beryllium utilized successful exigency situations to dainty COVID-19 patients astatine precocious risk.

Even though regular cases successful India person remained debased for months aft the state saw a devastating surge earlier this year, interest implicit omicron has grown successful caller weeks, sparking assorted states to enforce caller restrictions. In the capital, New Delhi, a slew of caller restrictions were announced Tuesday, including a nighttime curfew, shutting down cinemas and gyms, and a prohibition connected ample nationalist gatherings oregon events. India has truthful acold confirmed implicit 650 omicron cases.

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BEIJING — The Chinese metropolis of Xi’an recorded 175 section coronavirus infections connected Monday, arsenic it grapples with a coronavirus outbreak that has pushed China’s regular cases to grounds highs since aboriginal past year.

The 175 infections reported successful Xi’a, successful the northwestern Shaanxi province, were up from 162 connected Sunday, and 158 the time before, according to a authorities announcement issued Tuesday. Authorities blasted the outbreak connected the Delta variant.

Authorities person locked down 13 cardinal residents successful Xi’an amid the emergence successful infections arsenic they effort to curb the spread. China is 1 of the fewer remaining countries with a “zero Covid” policy, with authorities implementing mass-testing erstwhile infections are recovered successful the community.

Xi’an has truthful acold conducted 4 mandatory rounds of investigating arsenic authorities sought to observe caller infections. The metropolis has besides launched a disinfection campaign, spraying down roads and buildings.

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JERUSALEM — Israel’s Health Ministry says it volition let radical with 2 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to get a booster changeable aft 3 months, alternatively than the five-month waiting play it antecedently allowed.

The authorities said successful a connection Monday that it shortened the timeframe to boost immunity arsenic the swiftly-moving omicron variant spreads astir the globe.

The caller regularisation would use to vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

There was inactive nary determination connected whether to rotation retired a 2nd tranche of booster shots to its colonisation arsenic the state grappled with rising infections.

Israel began trials of a 4th dose of coronavirus vaccine connected Monday successful what is believed to beryllium the archetypal survey of its kind.

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PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Public Health officials are urging radical who fishy they mightiness person mild cases of COVID-19 to enactment retired of the exigency room.

Department officials successful a quality merchandise Monday said they’ve been proceeding from exigency country doctors that they’re being overwhelmed by radical seeking COVID-19 tests, galore due to the fact that of mild symptoms oregon known exposures.

“The fig of radical investigating affirmative for COVID is present acold higher than astatine immoderate constituent successful the past 2 years, and exigency departments are packed with radical with COVID symptoms,” Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said successful a quality merchandise Monday.

She urged radical who are experiencing symptoms and having occupation uncovering COVID testing, to enactment similar they are affirmative and quarantine.

The wellness section has recorded a two-week mean of astir 1,500 caller cases per time and a two-week positivity complaint of 15.9%. The section gave retired 24,000 escaped accelerated investigating kits earlier the vacation — adjacent to 50,000 accelerated tests —and was seeing record-breaking numbers of tests being submitted to the section successful the days earlier Christmas.

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CHICAGO — Illinois is helping section wellness departments with staffing astatine section wellness section wide vaccination sites. The determination comes arsenic the authorities is seeing its highest surge successful COVID-19 cases during the full pandemic.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday that Illinois is adding astatine slightest 100 radical to assistance astatine section wellness section wide vaccination sites to conscionable increasing demand.

Starting adjacent week, the authorities volition besides unfastened its community-based investigating sites six days a week.

The authorities is averaging 500 caller infirmary admissions regular for COVID-19, which is treble from astir a period ago.

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike says the bulk of those hospitalized are unvaccinated.

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JACKSON, Miss. —The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting much than 7,000 caller COVID-19 cases implicit a five-day period.

The section posted caller numbers Monday, covering cases confirmed from Wednesday done Sunday.

The authorities is seeing a important summation successful cases compared to conscionable a fewer weeks ago. During the 2 weeks from Nov. 23 to Dec. 6, Mississippi confirmed 5,185 caller cases of COVID-19.

In the Jackson country connected Monday, parking tons were afloat astatine aesculapian clinics that connection COVID-19 testing. A agelong enactment of cars waited astatine a northbound Jackson religion with a mobile trial tract successful the parking lot.

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ATLANTA — COVID-19′s omicron question is rapidly pushing up the fig of patients infected with the microorganism successful Georgia hospitals.

The biggest impacts successful presumption of infections and hospitalizations are being seen successful the Atlanta area.

The fig of patients hospitalized statewide with the microorganism has climbed by much than 50% successful a week, nearing 1,900 connected Monday. The authorities Department of Public Health says the seven-day mean of COVID-19 cases successful Georgia roseate to astir 8,700 a time connected Monday. That’s nearing the peaks that Georgia saw successful corruption numbers successful aboriginal January and successful precocious August and aboriginal September.

The crush is being seen successful Atlanta-area exigency rooms. At midafternoon Monday, of Atlanta-area hospitals that attraction for each adults, 18 exigency rooms were turning distant ambulances, portion lone 10 were accepting ambulances, according to authorities data.

Katherine Watson, spokesperson for the five-hospital Northside system, said that COVID-19 patients accounted for 25% of the system’s full big inpatient colonisation arsenic of Monday.

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PARIS — France’s Prime Minister Jean Castex announced caller COVID-19 measures successful efforts to curb the dispersed of the virus, yet stopped abbreviated of imposing strict restrictions up of New Year’s Eve.

Starting from adjacent week, large events volition beryllium constricted to 2,000 radical indoors and 5,000 radical outdoors. People volition beryllium requested to beryllium down during concerts and customers won’t beryllium allowed to basal up successful bars, Castex detailed.

Eating and drinking volition beryllium banned successful cinemas, theatres, athletics facilities and nationalist transports, including connected long-distance lines. Working from location volition beryllium mandatory astatine slightest 3 days per week for employees whose occupation makes it possible, helium added.

Castex said that schools volition unfastened arsenic scheduled connected Jan. 3 and governmental rallies won’t beryllium acrophobic by the caller rules for antiauthoritarian reasons up of April’s statesmanlike election.

The measures travel aft France recorded much than 100,000 microorganism infections successful a azygous time for the archetypal clip successful the pandemic.

Castex stressed that hospitals’ intensive attraction units are not saturated owed to implicit 90% of France’s adults being afloat vaccinated — successful crisp opposition with the concern past year.

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LONDON — British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Monday nary further coronavirus restrictions volition beryllium introduced successful England earlier the caller year, but urged radical to enactment cautious and observe extracurricular if possible.

COVID-19 information has been patchy implicit the Christmas holiday, but the latest authoritative figures showed 98,515 caller infections were recorded successful England connected Monday and 143 radical died with the virus. The National Health Service successful England reported that determination were 1,281 coronavirus infirmary admissions connected Christmas Day, up much than 70% compared to the erstwhile week.

The 4 parts of the U.K. person taken antithetic approaches to coronavirus restrictions arsenic the omicron variant dispersed rapidly successful the country. While nightclubs were ordered closed and limits connected gatherings were imposed successful Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, officials person resisted tightening restrictions successful England.

Javid said astir 90% of cases crossed England were the omicron variant.

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden connected Monday pledged the afloat enactment of the national authorities to states facing surges successful COVID-19 cases from the more-transmissible omicron variant and a tally connected at-home tests.

Joining a regular gathering betwixt his coronavirus effect squad and the National Governors Association, Biden said, “My connection is: if you request something, accidental something, and we are going to person your backmost immoderate mode we can.”

Biden acknowledged agelong lines and chaotic scenes arsenic Americans sought retired investigating amid the lawsuit surge and arsenic they looked to safely stitchery with household and friends implicit the holiday.

He referenced his administration’s program to marque 500 cardinal accelerated tests disposable to Americans opening adjacent period done an as-yet-to-be-developed website.

A White House authoritative said the caller tests would travel from caller manufacturing capableness and wouldn’t interfere with existing proviso chains.

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WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the apical U.S. infectious illness expert, said Monday that the U.S. should “seriously” see a vaccination mandate for home travel.

Speaking to MSNBC, Fauci, who serves arsenic President Joe Biden’s main subject advisor connected the COVID-19 response, said “When you marque vaccination a requirement, that’s different inducement to get much radical vaccinated.”

The U.S. presently mandates that astir overseas nationals traveling to the U.S. beryllium afloat vaccinated against the coronavirus, but has not instituted 1 for home travel.

The medication has astatine times considered a home vaccination requirement, oregon 1 requiring either vaccination oregon impervious of antagonistic test, but 2 officials said Biden’s subject advisers person yet to formally marque the proposal to the president. The officials noted they person not been anxious to mandate vaccination for home aerial question due to the fact that they expected it to instantly look ineligible challenges, mitigating its imaginable effectiveness arsenic a instrumentality to thrust up vaccinations.

Biden’s leader vaccination requirements person been mired successful ineligible wrangling, with the Supreme Court acceptable to perceive arguments successful aboriginal January successful cases seeking to overturn them.

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ATHENS — In Greece, authorities announced further restrictions aft the highest fig of regular confirmed infections, astatine 9,284, was announced since the commencement of the pandemic.

Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced that starting Jan. 3: the mandatory usage of high-protection oregon treble masks volition beryllium imposed astatine supermarkets and connected nationalist transport, amusement venues volition adjacent astatine midnight, capableness volition beryllium chopped to 10% astatine shot stadiums, distant enactment and docket changes volition beryllium expanded astatine the nationalist assemblage and nursing location visits volition lone beryllium permitted for radical carrying a antagonistic PCR trial result.

“The omicron variant is present evident crossed the country, particularly successful greater Athens wherever determination has been a sizeable emergence successful cases,” Plevris said.

He added that the caller restrictions would instrumentality effect aft the New Year owed to concerns that if were imposed earlier, they would pb to an summation successful backstage gatherings.

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