News of the World

[kyonides]

Omicron infection appears to protect against Covid delta variant
and could displace it, South Africa study finds

People infected with the heavily mutated omicron variant of Covid-19 may have increased immune protection against delta, a new study says.

As a consequence, omicron could displace delta, according to the small study published by South African scientists this week.

The findings could have significant implications for nations such as the United States where omicron infections are rapidly increasing but the delta variant, which has caused an increase in hospitalizations, is still widespread.

“These results are consistent with Omicron displacing the Delta variant, since it can elicit immunity which neutralizes Delta making re-infection with Delta less likely,” the team of scientists, led by Khadija Khan at the Africa Health Research Institute, wrote in their findings.

If omicron displaces delta and proves more mild than past variants, “the incidence of Covid-19 severe disease would be reduced and the infection may shift to become less disruptive to individuals and society,” according to the scientists’ findings.

CDC Shortens Covid-19 Quarantine Guidelines for General Population

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a reversal of a previous recommendation, cut the number of days of isolation for Americans who contract COVID-19 from 10 days to five days regardless of vaccination status.

The agency similarly shortened the time that close contacts of COVID-19 need to quarantine. Authorities with the CDC said that its latest guidance is in line with more and more evidence suggesting that those who contract the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus are the most infectious two days before and three days after symptoms emerge.

Meanwhile, the CDC said that a surge in the Omicron variant across the United States propelled the latest guidance change. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told The Associated Press on Monday that the United States will experience significantly more Omicron cases.

“Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact, many are going to be asymptomatic,” she told the newswire service. “We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”

Since the emergence of the new strain in southern Africa last month, only one Omicron death has been reported so far in the United States. Officials in Texas said a Harris County man apparently died from the variant last week.

According to a recent analysis of U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the hospitalization rate for Omicron appears to be far lower than previous strains.

Around 64,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Christmas Day, or Dec. 25, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That represents an increase of about 3 percent from the week prior, when around 62,000 people were hospitalized on Dec. 18.

However, that’s much lower than peak hospitalizations that were seen during the Delta surge and about half that of the record-high hospitalizations in January 2021. On Sept. 1, some 98,000 people were hospitalized around the United States amid the Delta surge, and at around Jan. 14, more than 133,000 were hospitalized, federal data show.

But Walensky, in a statement published on the CDC’s website on Monday, warned that Omicron “has the potential to impact all facets of our society” and called on people to either get vaccinated or take a booster shot. She also recommended people to wear a mask inside public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status.

The CDC last week also loosened its recommendation for healthcare workers to stay out of work for about 10 days if they test positive for the CCP virus. New recommendations suggest that healthcare workers can head back to work after seven days if they produce a negative test result and have no symptoms.

The isolation time, the CDC added, can be shortened to five days if there are staffing shortages at facilities.

Cuba Signs ‘Belt and Road’ Agreement With China

Cuba and China have signed a cooperation plan to push forward construction projects under Beijing’s controversial overseas infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has saddled many participating countries with heavy debt loads.

The Chinese Embassy in Cuba announced the agreement on its website on Dec. 26, saying that the deal was inked two days earlier by He Lifeng, head of China’s top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, and Cuban Vice Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas.
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Under the agreement, the two nations aimed to work together on projects in several key sectors, including communications, education, health and biotechnology, science and technology, and tourism, according to the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency.

The Chinese Embassy also stated that a timetable and a roadmap had been proposed to implement the projects, without giving details.
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The researcher was quoted as saying that “Cuba is rich in mineral and oil resources, and is a major source of nickel ore for China.” Cuba has one of the world’s largest nickel deposits in the world.

New Jersey Gov. Murphy Blasted for Costa Rica Travel
as COVID-19 Omicron Variant Surges

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is catching heat for taking an eight-day Christmas vacation in Costa Rica despite the State Department warning travelers to “reconsider” visiting there due to COVID-19 and as the case count surges in his own state.

Murphy, vice chair of the National Governors Association, called in from Costa Rica to President Biden’s COVID-19 response meeting with the nation’s governors on Monday, where he received a “thank you” from the president before the meeting was closed to the public.

Murphy and his wife left the country on Dec. 22 and are due back this Thursday, while Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver serves as acting governor.

So let's say it's true that he and his family left US in order to spend the holidays in Costa Rica. Why now? And why can't Americans do the same without being called irresponsible or reckless by the authorities?