Health News at Your Fingertips

A northern Chinese city bordering Russia has halted rail imports including coal and timber on Wednesday over fears of a fresh cluster of Covid-19 infections.

Health authorities reported 91 new cases in or close to Manzhouli – a city of 231,000 in Inner Mongolia that handles more than 65% of China-Russia trade – after seeing dozens in recent days, forcing leaders to impose localised lockdowns and travel restrictions.

All of the 91 local symptomatic cases were reported in the region and marks the highest daily count since 2 November, data from the National Health Commission showed. It is also a significant jump from 21 cases a day earlier.

The aim is to “strengthen prevention and control” of the outbreak at ports and “effectively block the spread of overseas epidemics through imported goods”, the notice added.

Japan is set to expand its travel ban on foreigners entering the nation even further, preventing those with resident status from ten African nations including South Africa from entering the country “for the time being.”

The new rules will apply to foreign residents from South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Angola, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The border closing will be in effect for at least a month.

“From the view of prevention, we won’t just restrict new entry by foreigners but also returning foreigners with resident status, unless there are special extenuating circumstances,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.

“We will maintain a sense of urgency and keep track of the situation in various countries to be able to respond quickly and flexibly.”

On Monday, Japan closed its borders to all newly entering foreigners in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant. On Tuesday, Japan’s first Omicron case was discovered.

Germany is reporting a daily rise of 67,186 Covid cases and 446 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute of public health.

The figures bring the nationwide tally to 5,903,999 confirmed coronavirus cases and 101,790 deaths.

Three people who escaped an Australian Covid quarantine facility have been arrested.

Our reporter Cait Kelly from Melbourne, Australia, has the story.

Northern Territory Police arrested the trio who escaped from Darwin’s Howard Springs Covid-19 facility on Wednesday morning.

All three tested negative for Covid and have been taken into custody.

Earlier, police said the trio allegedly jumped the fence at the Centre for National Resilience just before 4.40am.

“Police and staff at the Centre for National Resilience are currently confirming the absconder’s identities prior to releasing further information,” police said.

Read the full story here.

Hong Kong will ban non-residents from entering the city from Japan, Portugal and Sweden from Friday due to concerns over the Omicron variant.

Non-Hong Kong residents who have been in the three countries in the past 21 days will not be allowed to enter the global financial hub. Residents can only board flights if fully vaccinated and will have to undergo 21-days of quarantine in a hotel at their own cost.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed late Tuesday it is working to impose stricter Covid-19 testing rules for air travellers entering the United States amid concerns about a new Covid-19 variant, Reuters reports.

The CDC confirmed in a statement it is working to revise its current Global Testing Order “for travel as we learn more about the Omicron variant; a revised order would shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travellers to one day before departure to the United States.”

Effective from today, vaccination will be required for travel within and out of Canada.

A valid Covid-19 molecular test will no longer be accepted as an alternative to vaccination unless travellers are eligible for one of the limited exemptions, such as a medical inability to be vaccinated.

As of 15 January, certain groups of travellers, who are currently exempt from entry requirements, will only be allowed to enter the country if they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada.

These groups include individuals travelling to reunite with family (unvaccinated children under 18 years of age will retain exemption if travelling to reunite with an immediate or extended family member who is a Canadian, permanent resident, or person registered under the Indian Act); international students who are 18 years old and older; professional and amateur athletes; individuals with a valid work permit, including temporary foreign workers (outside of those in agriculture and food processing); and essential service providers, including truck drivers.

After 15 January, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals will only be allowed to enter Canada if they meet the criteria for limited exceptions, the government of Canada said in a statement.

Singapore has announced it will require mandatory PCR testing for all travellers and additional antigen rapid tests for travellers on vaccinated travel lanes.

“To step up detection and containment of the Omicron variant until more information is available, we will enhance our testing protocols for travellers arriving in Singapore after 2 December 2021, 2359 hours (Singapore time). These enhanced measures will apply for four weeks in the first instance, and will be reviewed and extended if necessary,” the ministry of health said in a statement.

All travellers entering or transiting through Singapore, after 2 December, must undergo a pre-departure test within 2 days of their departure for Singapore and obtain a negative result. All travellers entering Singapore must undergo a Covid-19 PCR test on-arrival.

Those with confirmed cases or suspected cases of Covid-19 will no longer be able to undergo home recovery and will need to undergo quarantine at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

The US will require stricter coronavirus testing is set to be required for all travellers, including returning Americans, entering the country amid Omicron variant concerns.

The Biden administration is expected to take steps in the coming days to toughen testing requirements for international travellers to the US, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, the Associated Press reports.

The move is part of an enhanced winter Covid strategy Biden plans to announce on Thursday, the publication added.

US officials will require everyone entering the country to be tested one day before boarding flights, regardless of their vaccination status or country of departure. Administration officials are also considering a requirement that all travellers get retested within three to five days of arrival. Currently those who are fully vaccinated may present a test taken within three days of boarding.

Authorities are reportedly debating a controversial proposal to require all travellers, including US citizens, to self-quarantine for seven days, even if their test results are negative.

“CDC is evaluating how to make international travel as safe as possible, including pre-departure testing closer to the time of flight and considerations around additional post-arrival testing and self-quarantines,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday.

South Korea has reported a new daily record of 5,123 new Covid cases for Tuesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said today.

On Monday, the government shelved plans to further relax Covid-19 curbs due to the strain on its healthcare system from rising hospitalisations and deaths as well as the threat posed by the new variant.

The country is currently battling to contain a sharp rise in patients with severe Covid symptoms.

The World Health Organization has issued a new travel warning to those thinking about heading abroad this holiday season.

Covid-vulnerable people, including the over-60s, should postpone plans to travel, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday as more than 50 countries rush to implement travel measures aimed at delaying the spread of the new Omicron variant.

“Persons who are unwell, or who have not been fully vaccinated or do not have proof of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and are at increased risk of developing severe disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with comorbidities that present increased risk of severe COVID-19 (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes) should be advised to postpone travel to areas with community transmission,” the WHO advised.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.

I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be giving you a rundown of the latest updates as they happen.

The World Health Organization has issued a new travel warning to those thinking about heading abroad during the holiday season.

Covid-vulnerable people, including the over-60s, should postpone plans to travel, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday as more than 50 countries implement travel measures aimed at potentially delaying the importation of the new variant.

“Persons who are unwell or at risk of developing severe Covid-19 disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with co-morbidities (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes), should be advised to postpone travel,” said the WHO.

Greece has become the latest European nation to take a strict new stand against those who are unvaccinated by imposing a €100 per month fine for people over the age of 60 who have not received their first Covid-19 shot. The measures are set to take effect from 16 January.

Here’s a summary of all the key developments so far:

• Stricter coronavirus testing is set to be required for all travellers to the US amid Omicron variant concerns, the Washington Post reports.
• All eligible adults in the UK should be offered a Covid booster jab by the end of January, British prime minister Boris Johnson announced.
• The Omicron variant was present in Europe at least 10 days ago, according to health authorities in the Netherlands.
• Austria extends lockdown to 20 days after lawmakers voted to extend a nationwide lockdown by 10 days on Tuesday, bringing the total lockdown ending on 11 December to 20 days.
• Germany’s constitutional court has ruled that sweeping restrictions to stem Covid infections such as curfews, school closures and contact restrictions were lawful, in a decision that could pave the way for further curbs.
• Greece has said it will fine people over the age of 60 who have not received a first Covid-19 shot €100 per month from 16 January.
• All travellers entering Ireland will now have to show negative Covid tests.
• An expert committee voted to recommend the US Food and Drug Administration authorise Merck’s Covid pill for high-risk adults, the first of a new class of antiviral drug that could tackle Omicron and other variants.The drug, molnupiravir, is likely to be approved for older and more vulnerable people at greater risk of severe illness.
• Brazil reports first Omicron cases in Latin America after detecting two cases of the Omicron Covid strain on Tuesday, the country’s health regulator, Anvisa, said.
• Slovenia has halted use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine after experts confirmed a death in September was related to an extremely rare blood-clotting condition.
• Poland records highest Covid deaths since April with 526 deaths in the past 24 hours.
• Israel’s health minister says boosters may protect against Omicron.
• The US Food & Drug Administration says it is evaluating the effectiveness of authorised Covid vaccines against the Omicron variant and expects to have more information in the next few weeks.
• Japan confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant. A Namibian diplomat in his 30s is thought to have tested positive for the variant.