France, UK, Italy, Greece, and Portugal all hit record daily infections, with France reporting almost 180,000 cases.
The risk posed by the Omicron variant is still “very high”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, after COVID-19 case numbers shot up by 11 percent globally last week.
Omicron is behind the rapid virus spikes in many countries, the WHO said in its COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update. It has already overtaken the previously-dominant Delta variant in several nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
The news comes as several European countries, including France, the UK, Italy, Greece, and Portugal all hit record daily infections. France reported almost 180,000 cases in a 24-hour period on Tuesday.
Thailand warns of infection spike from ‘super-spreader’ event
Thai health authorities warned the country should brace itself for a potential jump in infections after classifying the country’s first cluster of the Omicron variant as a “super-spreader” incident.
The Omicron cluster identified in the northeastern province of Kalasin on Christmas eve has been linked to a couple who had travelled from Belgium and visited bars, concerts and markets.
That, in turn, had infected hundreds, with cases spreading to 11 other provinces, said senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong. Thailand has recorded 740 cases of Omicron to date, including 251 in people who had come into contact with foreign arrivals, said Opas.
In India, fears of a third wave grow
India reported a total of nearly 800 Omicron cases and more than 9,000 fresh infections overall nationwide, adding to mounting concern the country could be on the cusp of entering a third wave of COVID-19.
France extends nightclub closures
French Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said that nightclubs would remain closed for a further three weeks following Tuesday’s record case numbers.
All of the country’s approximately 1,600 nightclubs were ordered shut on December 6 for four weeks as officials hoped to avoid a wave of infections fuelled by holiday travel and festivities amid the advance of Omicron.
Lemoyne told France Inter radio that the decision to extend the mandatory closure of all such facilities was part of a series of new measures announced by the government this week in a bid to halt the variant’s spread.
Poland reports highest daily fourth wave deaths
Poland reported 794 COVID-related deaths, the highest daily number in the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Deputy Minister of Health Waldemar Kraska said on private television Polsat News.
More than 75 percent of those who died were unvaccinated, Kraska said.
Poland has been dealing with persistently high daily infection numbers during the fourth wave, despite the Omicron variant failing to gain a foothold there yet, forcing authorities to tighten virus restrictions. On Wednesday, health authorities recorded 15,571 new coronavirus cases nationwide.
Source: Al Jazeera