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 Almost two years after China first reported a cluster of "viral
pneumonia" cases in the city of Wuhan, the regularly mutating
coronavirus is wreaking havoc in many parts of the world, forcing
governments to rethink quarantine and test rules.
Although some studies have suggested the Omicron variant is less
deadly than some of its predecessors, the huge numbers of people
testing positive mean that hospitals in some countries might soon be
overwhelmed, while businesses might struggle to carry on operating
because of workers having to quarantine.
France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Malta all
registered a record number of new cases on Tuesday.
The average number of daily COVID-19 cases in the United States has
also hit a record high over the past seven days, according to a
Reuters tally. The previous peak was in January of this year.
New daily infections in Australia spiked to nearly 18,300, on
Wednesday eclipsing the previous pandemic high of around 11,300 hit
a day earlier.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country needed "a
gear change" to manage overburdened laboratories, with long walk-in
and drive-in queues reported in a number of areas.
Testing bottlenecks have also built in European nations, including
Spain where demand for free COVID-19 testing kits provided by
Madrid's regional government far outstripped supply on Tuesday, with
long queues forming outside pharmacies.
"I JUST WANT TO GO HOME"
A number of governments were also increasingly worried by the huge
numbers of people being forced into self-isolation because they had
been in contact with a coronavirus sufferer.
"We just can't have everybody just being taken out of circulation
because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular
time," Australia's Morrison told reporters.
Italy was expected to relax some of its quarantine rules on
Wednesday over fears the country will soon grind to a halt given how
many people are having to self-isolate protectively, with cases
doubling on Tuesday from a day earlier to 78,313.
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 However, China showed no let up in its policy of
zero tolerance to outbreaks, keeping 13 million
people in the city of Xian under rigid lockdown
for a seventh day as new COVID-19 infections
persisted, with 151 cases reported on Tuesday.
"I just want to go home," said a 32-year-old
mechanic, who was in Xian last week for a
business trip when the city was effectively shut
off from the outside world.
No cases of Omicron have been announced in Xian
so far.
Many countries are still grappling with the
earlier Delta variant, including Poland, which
reported 794 COVID-related deaths on Wednesday -
the highest number in the fourth wave of the
pandemic.
Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska said more
than 75% of those who died were unvaccinated.
Early data from Britain, South Africa and
Denmark suggests there is a reduced risk of
hospitalization for the Omicron compared with
the Delta variant, the World Health Organization
(WHO) said in its latest epidemiological report
released overnight.
However, the report said further data was needed
to understand how severity of illness may be
impacted by vaccination and, or, prior
infection.
The surge in cases is coinciding with the New
Year holidays, normally a period of parties and
travel. Some countries, such as Italy, have
cancelled public celebrations, while authorities
in Japan urged residents to keep end-of-year
gatherings small.
"The highest risk is meeting people without
taking adequate measures to prevent infection,"
said Norio Ohmagari, director of the Disease
Control and Prevention Center and a top health
advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by
Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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