Live updates: Spanish schools to reopen as normal next week

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MADRID — Spanish officials accidental the country’s schools and universities volition instrumentality to classes arsenic mean adjacent week.

Health Minister Carolina Darias says Spain’s cardinal and determination governments unanimously agreed Tuesday connected sticking with in-person teaching.

Darias told a property league that Spain’s comparatively precocious vaccination rates meant that during a caller surge successful COVID-19 cases owed to the omicron variant not truthful galore radical were falling earnestly sick arsenic successful erstwhile peaks.

Education Minister Pilar Alegría says pandemic protocols volition stay successful place. That means students person to deterioration look masks and regularly sanitize their hands, portion classrooms indispensable beryllium decently ventilated.

Schools reopen from Monday. Spanish universities are holding exams and won’t instrumentality to teaching until adjacent month.

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

— How volition pandemic end? Omicron clouds forecasts for endgame

— Fauci says CDC whitethorn adhd trial request for infected radical ending isolation

— Pentagon main Austin says helium has tested affirmative for COVID

— British authorities rushing tests to schools

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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:

BERLIN — Germany has relaxed restrictions connected question from the U.K., South Africa and 7 different confederate African countries that were imposed pursuing the emergence of the caller omicron coronavirus variant.

The 9 nations were removed Tuesday from Germany’s database of “virus variant areas.” Airlines and others are restricted mostly to transporting German citizens and residents from countries connected that list. All arrivals indispensable self-isolate for 14 days, careless of vaccination status.

Germany’s nationalist illness power halfway had announced connected Thursday that it planned to downgrade the countries’ hazard presumption but said astatine the clip that “short-term changes” were possible.

They person present been added to Germany’s database of “high-risk areas,” which carries overmuch little onerous restrictions. People arriving from specified areas who either haven’t recovered precocious oregon been afloat vaccinated person to self-isolate for 10 days, which tin beryllium chopped to 5 with a antagonistic test.

Omicron is advancing successful Germany but authorities accidental authoritative statistic presently amusement a precise incomplete representation due to the fact that of patchy investigating and reporting implicit the vacation period.

The illness power center, the Robert Koch Institute, said Tuesday that 30,561 caller coronavirus cases were reported implicit the past 24 hours, implicit 9,000 much than a week earlier. The officially recorded corruption complaint was 239.9 caller cases per 100,000 residents implicit the past week. The wellness curate has said the existent complaint is astir apt 2 oregon 3 times higher.

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NEW DELHI, India — Authorities successful India's superior person imposed a play stay-at-home bid due to the fact that of a surge successful coronavirus infections triggered by the omicron variant.

Residents indispensable stay astatine location this Saturday and Sunday but to get essentials specified arsenic nutrient oregon medicine, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said. All authorities workers but for those providing indispensable services volition enactment from home. He emphasized, however, that precise fewer radical were highly sick, with 124 radical requiring oxygen enactment and 7 connected ventilators.

The superior recorded implicit 4,000 caller COVID-19 cases connected Monday and its trial positivity complaint surged to 6.5%. A week earlier, the superior detected 300 infections and the trial positivity complaint was little than 1%.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said helium has tested affirmative for the microorganism and has mild symptoms.

The reported fig of infections bash not accurately bespeak the existent dispersed of the microorganism due to the fact that it lone includes recorded cases.

Cases are expanding successful astir parts of India. The northeastern authorities of Mizoram has a trial positivity complaint of implicit 11% -- the highest successful India. That is followed by the eastbound West Bengal state, which has a trial positivity complaint of implicit 9%.

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PORTLAND, Oregon — Oregon reported much than 9,700 caller cases of COVID-19 from the vacation play connected Monday and smashed a erstwhile grounds for play coronavirus cases with an mean of astir 2,400 caller regular cases arsenic the omicron variant took hold.

The authorities besides deed a single-day precocious for caller cases connected Thursday, with 3,534 confirmed oregon presumptive infections.

The Oregon Health Authority says 18.2% of COVID-19 tests administered implicit the agelong play were affirmative for the virus, the highest complaint to date.

Hospitalizations, however, hovered astatine 498 people, little than fractional the fig astatine the erstwhile peak. Eleven deaths were reported.

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NEW ORLEANS — Costumed revelers volition people the opening of New Orleans’ yearly Carnival play this week with a thrust connected a historical streetcar — carrying retired a cherished contented contempt caller surges successful COVID-19 infections.

A Monday announcement from the Phunny Phorty Phellows enactment says participants “will beryllium wearing masks covering their mouths arsenic good arsenic their eyes” erstwhile their streetcar rumbles down the tracks connected Thursday night.

Carnival play begins each twelvemonth connected Jan. 6, the 12th nighttime aft Christmas. It ends with astir 2 weeks of opulent parades that culminate connected Mardi Gras, oregon Fat Tuesday, which falls connected March 1 this year.

Festivities, including large parades that bring thousands to the streets, were mostly canceled successful 2021.

There had been concerns that the 2020 Mardi Gras solemnisation had been an unintended “super spreader” of coronavirus successful the aboriginal days of the pandemic.

This year, metropolis officials are moving up with plans for large parades successful February, with precautions including vaccine oregon investigating requirements for interval riders and customers of bars, restaurants and different nationalist places.

Louisiana’s politician said past week that the authorities is mounting records for caller COVID-19 diagnoses, and the omicron variant surge is conscionable beginning.

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TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas has reported a grounds seven-day mean for caller confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases.

State wellness section information released Monday showed that Kansas reported an mean of 3,134 caller COVID-19 cases a time for the 7 days ending Monday. That’s 13% higher than the erstwhile grounds of 2,767 cases per time for the 7 days ending Nov. 18, 2020.

Kansas has present reported much than 534,000 cases for the pandemic oregon much than 1 for each six of its 2.9 cardinal residents.

The authorities besides averaged 38 caller COVID-19 hospitalizations and 11 caller reported deaths a time for the 7 days ending Monday. The caller numbers came arsenic the authorities starts to spot reports of the omicron variant spreading.

While the mean for caller hospitalizations isn’t a record, hospitals are inactive nether stress, some due to the fact that of caller patients and infections among employees.

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PHOENIX — Arizona wellness officials connected Monday reported the highest fig of caller COVID-19 cases successful a year.

The 14,192 caller cases were the astir ever tallied successful a time but for Jan. 3, 2020, erstwhile much than 17,000 cases were counted.

The authorities Health Services Department said the caller lawsuit number was boosted by little than mean reporting connected Sunday, erstwhile conscionable 701 caller cases were reported. However, the authorities said determination has been a steep upward inclination of cases successful caller days.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, the seven-day rolling mean of regular caller cases successful Arizona has risen sharply implicit the past 2 weeks from 2,945 caller cases per time connected Dec. 18 to 5,051 caller cases per time connected Jan. 1.

The authorities reported nary caller deaths connected Monday and conscionable 1 connected Sunday, bringing the full fig of radical who died from the microorganism successful Arizona since the pandemic began successful aboriginal 2020 to 24,355.

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WASHINGTON — Congress’ apical doc urged lawmakers connected Monday to determination to a “maximal telework posture,” citing surging numbers of COVID-19 cases astatine the Capitol that helium said are mostly breakthrough infections of radical already vaccinated.

The seven-day mean complaint of corruption astatine the Capitol’s investigating halfway has risen from little than 1% to much than 13%, Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician, wrote successful a missive to legislature leaders obtained by The Associated Press.

Monahan said determination has been “an unprecedented fig of cases successful the Capitol assemblage affecting hundreds of individuals.” In what helium said was constricted sampling arsenic of Dec. 15, astir 61% of the cases were the new, highly contagious omicron variant portion 38% were the delta variant.

Providing nary figure, helium said “most” of the cases are breakthroughs.

While specified cases person not led to immoderate deaths oregon hospitalizations among vaccinated lawmakers oregon legislature staff, Monahan said adjacent mild infections tin pb to six to 12 months of “long COVID.” A “reasonable estimate” is that 6% to 10% of cases could extremity up that way, helium added.

Monahan urged legislature offices to “reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum grade possible.”

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NEW ORLEANS — A caller vaccine and investigating request is kicking successful for children from the ages of 5 to 11 successful New Orleans to conflict the coronavirus.

Local media study that children successful those property groups indispensable present beryllium vaccinated oregon amusement impervious of a caller antagonistic coronavirus trial to sojourn definite locations successful the metropolis specified arsenic restaurants.

The caller mandate comes arsenic coronavirus cases person skyrocketed crossed the country, driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.

The mandate was announced successful December by Mayor LaToya Cantrell. It already applies to adults and children 12 and up.

Starting connected Feb. 1 the coronavirus vaccine volition besides beryllium included successful the database of required vaccines for children to be school, though determination is an enactment for families to opt retired of the requirement.

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