Live | Covid-19: travel bans “will not prevent the spread” of the variant, says WHO

8:32: “Any French being in these countries of southern Africa will be able to return to France”

“Any French being in these southern African countries will be able to return to France,” Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Ecological Transition in charge of Transport, said on Wednesday on Cnews.

“The lines will be reopened but in a very restricted way for compelling reasons and with a very strict sanitary protocol,” he said.

8:30 a.m .: Tokyo suspends new air bookings to Japan for one month

Japan has asked airlines to suspend all new bookings to its territory for a period of one month, amid fears about the Omicron variant.

8:27 am: First cases of the Omicron variant detected in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has detected three first cases of the Omicron variant which is spreading across the world on its territory, announced the head of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Ifedayo Adetifa.

8:24 am: The Omicron variant present in Europe before the signal from the authorities in South Africa

The Omicron variant was already circulating in the Netherlands before South Africa’s official announcement on November 24. Two samples, taken on November 19 and 23, tested positive for the new variant, the Dutch Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM) noted on Tuesday, as DutchNews.nl reports.

7:59 a.m .: McFly & Carlito’s barrier gestures clip is the most popular video in 2021 on YouTube

The clip on barrier gestures produced by comedians McFly & Carlito at the call of Emmanuel Macron tops the ranking of the most popular videos in 2021 on YouTube. With nearly 16 million views and 1.4 million likes, the star youtuber duo’s “Je me souviens” video climbed to number one in the ten most popular videos between January and November 2021, excluding music videos, trailers, short films and videos for children.

7:49 am: WHO considers travel bans useless

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday deemed travel bans unnecessary to stem the spread of the new variant. “General travel bans will not prevent the spread” of this variant, the WHO said in a technical document. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “concerned that several member states are taking general and brutal measures which are neither evidence-based nor effective in themselves and which will only worsen the inequalities “between countries.

7.45 am: Covid-19 outbreak at Russian border, trains suspended in China

A Chinese city bordering Russia and affected by an outbreak of Covid on Wednesday shut down freight rail links, China also recording a record number of new cases for a month. The Chinese Ministry of Health has reported 91 new patients nationwide, all in Inner Mongolia (north) and the majority around or in the city of Manzhouli, which has 230,000 inhabitants. The latter sees more than 65% of Sino-Russian trade. Manzhouli had already recorded several dozen cases in recent days, pushing the authorities to impose localized lockdowns and movement restrictions.

7:10 am: In Amiens, 83 people are vaccinated with doses of Pfizer … expired

Nearly 83 people were vaccinated on November 12 with doses of Pfizer vaccine that had been thawed for too long inform Le Courrier Picard. This does not present “danger” for the patients but “the effectiveness of the vaccine decreases after 30 days of thawing”. Everyone has been contacted and will be offered a new injection.

7:03 am: An ocean liner refused in a port after a case of Covid

A liner with nearly 300 passengers was denied access to the port of Puerto Madryn, in southern Argentina and its passengers ordered to be in isolation on Tuesday, after a case of Covid was detected on board, against a background of fear related to the new variant of Covid Omicron. Argentina’s health ministry said in a statement that it had “ordered the isolation of all passengers aboard the Hamburg ship,” after a positive case was announced on Tuesday. The liner, under the flag of the Bahamas, is currently in the open sea off Samborombon Bay, about 280 km southeast of Buenos Aires, after making a stopover in the Argentine capital on Friday.

6:54 am: Two cases of the Omicron variant in Switzerland including one in Basel

The Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) in Switzerland announced on Tuesday its first two cases of coronavirus due to the Omicron variant, one of which was detected in the canton of Basel-City (Switzerland) indicates Alsace. The two people, linked to each other, were placed in isolation.

6:29 am: Slightly higher risks in children with asthma

Children with asthma are at a higher risk of hospitalization for Covid-19, according to a study conducted using Scottish public health data and published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Scottish children with asthma have been admitted to hospital more often to treat Covid. The difference is even more marked when we take into account only the most severe asthmatics, that is to say who had been the subject of a previous hospitalization or had received treatment on several occasions.

6:10 am: Brazil announces two cases of the Omicron variant, the first in Latin America

The government of Sao Paulo, in southern Brazil, has announced two cases of the new Omicron variant, the first in that country and in Latin America, in travelers from South Africa. The two infected people are a 41-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, who arrived in Brazil on November 23 and left for South Africa on November 25, the statement said. Another suspected case, that of a passenger from Ethiopia who had previously visited South Africa, is under investigation. Brazil, like many other countries, has closed its borders to flights from six southern African countries.

6:07 am: Canada bans travelers from Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi

Canada, in response to the threat of the new variant Omicron on Tuesday banned entry to its soil to travelers from Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt, bringing to ten the number of African countries banned by Ottawa.

5:50 am: WHO advises people at risk of traveling

Faced with the spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the World Health Organization on Tuesday advised against travel for people over 60 and people with comorbidities (for example: heart disease, cancer and diabetes). But she nevertheless ruled, in a technical document, that “general travel bans will not prevent the spread” of this variant which worries the planet.

5:47 am: “The situation is getting worse”, according to Véran

The health situation is “in the process of worsening,” said Minister of Health Olivier Véran on Tuesday in the face of the rebound in contaminations. The minister repeated that vaccination makes it possible to limit the number of serious cases, hospitalizations, resuscitations and deaths: “this is what currently protects our country”, “it is also the usefulness of the health pass” . “But the number of serious cases continues to rise (…), which is why we must amplify the recall campaign”, he pleaded.

5:46 am: Update on the epidemic in France

According to data from Public Health France, 10,249 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized on Tuesday, against 9,860 on Monday. 1,187 admissions were recorded in 24 hours. Of these hospitalized patients, 1,824 were in critical care units on Tuesday, compared to 1,043 on Monday. 271 new admissions were recorded in 24 hours. 114 Covid-19 patients died in hospital on Tuesday.

The incidence rate rose again on Tuesday above the very worrying bar of 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. 47,177 contaminations were identified in 24 hours.

5:45 am: Hello everyone and welcome to this live stream dedicated to the news of the Covid-19 pandemic in France and around the world.