Health News at Your Fingertips

According to data by Johns Hopkins University, the US recorded 512,553 daily new cases today – by far the single highest number of cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic. The previous record was 294,015 set on 8 January 2021.

One mitigating factor is the delay in reporting over the Christmas weekend. Many testing centres were likely closed over the holiday, meaning some test results would have been likely rolled over to Monday and today.

Cyprus has recorded its highest single-day number of cases with 2,241 infections, up from 1,925 the day before.

To date, Cyprus has reported 154,926 cases and 630 deaths, Reuters reports.

“I think this is due to the Omicron variant, which may have arrived earlier than we thought,” said Petros Karayiannis, professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the University of Nicosia and a member of the government’s scientific advisory committee.

The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant was recorded in Cyprus on 10 December. More than 80% of residents have received two doses of a Covid vaccine.

In Turkey, figures by the health ministry show daily cases have exceeded 30,000 for the first time since 19 October.

Turkish authorities reported 32,176 cases and 184 deaths today. The country’s daily caseload has risen in recent days due to the Omicron variant, with daily cases surging by 30% on Monday.

“Bringing case numbers to the 20,000 level was a serious achievement,” Turkey’s health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said. “Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, it can be seen we are now entering a rising trend.”

The number of children being admitted to hospital in New York City has increased fivefold this month as paediatric Covid cases and hospitalisations across the US continue to rise. Paediatric hospitalisations in New York City jumped from 22 to 109 in the week ending 23 December.

Nationwide, paediatric hospitalisations rose by 35% in the past week, CNN reports.

“I think we are going to see more numbers now than we have ever seen,” said Dr Stanley Spinner, the chief medical officer and vice president at Texas Children’s paediatric and urgent care units in Houston.

“Cases are continuing to rise between Christmas gatherings and we’re going to continue to see more numbers this week from that.”

Earlier today, New York’s acting state health commissioner said the risk of Covid for children was “real”. “We are alerting New Yorkers to this recent striking increase in paediatric Covid-19 admissions so that paediatricians, parents and guardians can take urgent action to protect our youngest New Yorkers,” she said.

Greece reported a new daily record of 21,657 Covid cases today, more than double the number the day before.

The previous record was 9,284 cases, set on Monday. That figure was more than double Sunday’s figure of 4,036.

Of the new infections, 9,882 were reported in Attica and 2,665 in Thessaloniki.

A further 60 deaths were also reported, slightly down from 66 the previous day.

The joint head of the largest nursing union in the US has warned that new federal guidance reducing the isolation time for asymptomatic people infected with Covid-19 will increase the spread of the virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance on Monday halving the recommended isolation time from 10 days to five days.

Speaking to CNN, Jean Ross, the co-president of National Nurses United, said: “It’s only going to lead to more illness, more cases.”

Ross argued that reducing isolation time during a surge of the Omicron variant was misguided. “This is when you should be tightening your controls, not lessening [them],” she said.

Her comments came as new data released today by the CDC estimated that the Omicron variant accounted for 58.6% of cases circulating in the country for the week ending 25 December.

France reported 179,807 new confirmed cases in a 24-hour period today, by far the highest number since the start of the pandemic.

The previous highest daily number, 104,611 cases, was recorded on Saturday.

Portugal reported a record 17,172 new cases today, beating the previous high of 16,432 cases in late January this year.

Despite the rise in cases, the number of people admitted to hospital and intensive care with Covid-19 is a fraction of the peak reached during Portugal’s winter wave. The latest data showed hospitals had 936 patients with Covid, compared with a peak of 6,869 on 1 February.

In the last 24 hours, 19 further deaths have been recorded, compared to a peak of 303 deaths reported on 28 January.

Official data showed the Omicron variant, which has fuelled a sharp rise in cases across Europe, representing 61.5% of all new cases in the country.

With about 87% of its 10 million population vaccinated and almost 2.4 million people having received a third booster jab, Portugal has one of the world’s highest Covid vaccination rates. The United Arab Emirates is the only country with a higher proportion of vaccinated people.

Hello, I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’ll be bringing you all the latest global development on the coronavirus pandemic for the next few hours. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

The UK’s care minister has said people should enjoy themselves but exercise caution when celebrating the new year. Speaking to BBC News, Gillian Keegan advised that people should take a lateral flow test before going out and celebrate in well-ventilated areas.

“I’ve been to a couple of outdoor parties,” she said. “Just be cautious but do try to enjoy yourself as well.”

The UK recorded 129,471 new Covid cases on Tuesday, the government’s Covid dashboard says. This is the highest recorded total ever, and up from 98,515 reported yesterday. The previous record high of daily infections was 122,186 on 24 December.

The data is not complete as it does not include figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland due to differences in reporting practices over the Christmas holidays. The 12,378 cases reported for Wales included data that would normally have been reported in previous days.

A further 18 deaths were also reported. This data is incomplete due to the holiday period, so the true figures are likely to be higher.

Here’s the breakdown of cases:

• England – 117,093
• Scotland – no data yet
• Wales – 12,378
• Northern Ireland – no data yet

There were 1,374 Covid-19 hospital admissions in England on 26 December, NHS England said.

This is up 48% week-on-week and is the highest number since 11 February.

During the second wave of coronavirus, admissions peaked at 4,134 on 12 January.

In London, 374 admissions were reported on 26 December, up 53% week-on-week but slightly below the 390 admissions reported on 23 December.

Admissions during the second wave peaked in London at 977 on 6 January, PA reports.

The number of Covid-19 admissions includes people admitted to hospital in the previous 24 hours who were known to have Covid-19, plus any patients diagnosed in hospital with Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours.

A total of 9,546 people in England were in hospital with Covid-19 as of 8am on 28 December, according to figures from NHS England, a rise of 38% from a week earlier and the highest number since 3 March.

During the second wave, this number peaked at 34,336 on 18 January.

In London, 3,024 people were in hospital with Covid-19 on 28 December, up 59% week-on-week and the highest number since 19 February.

London’s peak in the second wave was 7,917 on 18 January.