the times | Saturday December 18 2021 2GM 15
News
The largest number of cases recorded
in a day were reported yesterday as
theatres cancelled performances and
the hospitality industry suffered more
no-shows.
A further 93,045 new cases of Covid-
19 were announced, the highest daily
total recorded since the pandemic
began and a rise of 4,669 on the previ-
ous record set on Thursday.
West End venues and theatres across
the country were forced to close per-
formances as coronavirus outbreaks
ripped through casts, and restaurants
and events reported high levels of no-
shows as people cut back on socialising
over the Omicron threat.
The daily case figures take the seven-
day total to 477,229, a 38.6 per cent in-
crease on the week before.
The UK Health Security Agency
estimates that Omicron cases are dou-
bling in less than two days in almost all
regions. Total daily figures are not dou-
bling at that rate as they include a high
number of Delta variant cases.
Research from Imperial College
London suggests that people are five
times more likely to be reinfected by the
Omicron variant of coronavirus than
by Delta. The health security agency
plans to begin reporting the number of
reinfections in daily figures.
A team led by Professor Neil Fergus-
on estimated that past infection offered
as little as 19 per cent protection against
reinfection by Omicron. Two doses of
AstraZeneca or Pfizer also appeared to
offer “very limited” protection against
symptomatic infection, the team said.
Ferguson said: “This level of immune
evasion means that Omicron poses a
major threat to public health.”
He expects better protection against
severe disease, but there was “no evi-
dence” yet that Omicron is intrinsically
any less severe than the previous domi-
nant strain.
The South Africa health minister,
Joe Phaahla, said high levels of past
Covid-19 infections and vaccines were
behind a milder Omicron-fuelled
fourth wave. “We believe that it might
not necessarily just be that Omicron is
less virulent, but we believe that this
coverage of vaccination, also in addi-
tion to natural immunity of people who
have already had contact with the virus,terday after his return from California.
The CBI, the British Chambers of Com-
merce and Federation of Small Busi-
nesses raised concerns about the impact
of cancellations on certain sectors and
the importance of clar messaging from
government. After the meeting the
Treasury said: “We recognise how im-
portant the festive period is for so many
businesses and the government will
continue to engage constructively on
how it can best provide ongoing support
to the businesses and sectors affected.”is also adding to the protection,” he told
reporters. “That’s why we are seeing
mild illness.”
He was speaking as cases looked to
have peaked in the most populous prov-
ince of Gauteng where the Omicron
variant was first discovered. Data sug-
gests that deaths will also be lower than
in previous waves driven by Beta and
Delta variants.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, held a
virtual meeting with leaders of Britain’s
three main business organisations yes-The national picture
How many people have Covid-19?
There were 93,045 new cases reported
yesterday, bringing the total so far to
11,190,354 or 167.5 for every 1,000 people
38.6% increase from seven days ago
(based on seven-day moving average)How many are in hospital?
There are 7,6 1 1 patients in hospital being
treated. 875 patients are on ventilators. An
additional 900 patients have been admitted,
up 8.1 per cent in the seven days to
December 13 when this data was last updatedHow many have died?
Yesterday, there were 111 deaths reported,
bringing the total number of deaths in the
past seven days to 794. The rolling
average number of daily deaths is 113.4,
down from 118.7 a day a week agoHow does 2021 compare?
There were 11,659 deaths from all causes
recorded in England and Wales in the week
to December 3, of which the coronavirus
accounted for 6.8 per cent. The number of
weekly deaths was 1,302 higher than the
five-year average for the same time of yearOct Jan Apr Jul Oct01,2,3,4,Hospital admissions
Seven-day
averageOct Jan Apr Jul Oct020,40,60,80,
National
R number
1.0 to 1.Daily cases
Seven-day
averageOct Jan Apr Jul Oct05001,1,Deaths
Seven-day
averageApr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct05,10,15,20,
2020/Five-year averageGlobal cases Deaths per million population
272,919,Global deaths
5,336,Countries reporting most deathsMost new casesUS
Brazil
India
Mexico
Russia
Peru
UK
Indonesia1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Data supplied by Johns Hopkins University. US data
fluctuates because of irregular reporting by different states.
Figures as of 6pm yesterday. Sources: UK government,
Our World in Data, selected countriesUS
UK
France
Germany
Vietnam
Spain
Russia
Italy1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8World update
Rank Now Jan 31
1 ,23 4
1 , 299
1 , 431
1, 296
1, 367
1 , 523
797
949
1, 048
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1 , 460
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4,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
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2,
2,
2,
2,
1,Peru
Bulgaria
Bosnia & H
Hungary
N. Macedonia
Czech Rep
Georgia
Romania
Brazil
Argentina
US
Italy
UK
Spain1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 915
17
24
26
31138,803,93,
60,
51,
34,
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( 9 )Patient with Covid has heart transplant
brazil
A 31-year-old man with a severe case of
Covid-19 has successfully received a
heart transplant in what is believed to
be the first such case in the world. The
patient, who had suffered from a con-
genital heart disease for many years,
tested positive just before the operation
was due to go ahead at a hospital in São
Paolo. Before, during and after surgery
he remained on a ventilator. The trans-
plant was a success except for one com-
plication: the patient developed necro-
sis of his toes, some of which had to be
amputated.united states
A total of 103 US marines have been dis-
charged for refusing the vaccine. The
army said it had reprimanded more
than 2,700 soldiers and would begin
discharge proceedings next month,
while the USAF said earlier that 27
airmen had been discharged for refus-
ing the vaccine order. The US Navy laidout its new discipline procedure this
week, and has fired one sailor from a
command for refusing to be tested
while he seeks an exemption.
Military leaders have warned for
months that troops would face conse-
quences if they did not follow orders to
get vaccinated. But only in the past
week or so have they publicly begun
following through on the threats.
Asked about the impact on military
readiness if service members continue
to refuse the shots and are discharged
from the service, John Kirby, the Penta-
gon’s chief spokesman, said that troops
still had time to do the right thing. “We
obviously hope that they will,” he said.
“But if they don’t, it is a lawful order and
it has to be obeyed because it is a valid
medical requirement.”denmark
Theatres, cinemas, concert halls,
amusement parks, museums and art
galleries have been ordered to closefrom tomorrow to contain the spread of
coronavirus. Restaurants and shops
will also have new restrictions. The
government is advising people to limit
social contacts over Christmas and to
work from home where possible.india
Omicron is “spreading rapidly” among
the population of nearly 1.4 billion, the
government said as it reported 101 cases
of the new variant. “Avoid non-essen-
tial travel, mass gatherings, and it’s very
important to observe low-intensity
festivities,” said Balram Bhargava, head
of the state-run Indian Council of Med-
ical Research.
The government is banking on vacci-
nations to protect against Omicron —
half of the adult population of 940 mil-
lion has had two doses. It is rejecting
urgent calls by doctors for booster
shots, saying that it wants to wait until
all adults are double-jabbed, a process
that may take months.News
Hospitality hit as daily
cases at a record 93,
Kat Lay Health Editor
Emma Yeomans
Jane Flanagan Cape TownTIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLEAMER GHAZZAL/ALAMY LIVE NEWSOmicron cases double every two days, the UK Health Security Agency estimates