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China’s local COVID case count driven to 21-month high by Xian outbreak…. S. Korea adds 5,419 COVID cases, 69 deaths…. France reports more than 100,000 COVID-19 infections for first time….Italy report record number of COVID-19 infections…..UK reports new record of 122,186 COVID cases……Irish COVID-19 infections hit record

Reuters BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported its highest daily rise in local COVID-19 cases in 21 months as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, China’s latest COVID hot spot.

The city of 13 million, which entered its fourth day of lockdown, detected 155 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms for Saturday, up from 75 a day earlier, official data showed on Sunday.

That drove the national daily count to 158, the highest since China managed to contain a nationwide outbreak in early 2020. Xian, with 485 local symptomatic cases reported for the Dec. 9-25 period, has imposed heavy-handed measures to rein in the outbreak, in line with Beijing’s policy that any flare-up should be contained as soon as possible. Residents may not leave town without approval from employers or local authorities and multiple rounds of mass testing were conducted to identify cases.

S. Korea adds 5,419 COVID cases, 69 deaths

South Korean health authorities said that 5,419 new coronavirus cases have been registered in the country since the previous daily update as the number of daily infections remained under 6,000 for the second consecutive day. The total number of registered infections in South Korea since the start of the pandemic now stands at 607,463. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) noted that the COVID-19 death toll in the country climbed by 69 to 5,245.

France reports more than 100,000 COVID-19 infections for first time Italy report record number of COVID-19 infections

France and Italy recorded their highest numbers of COVID-19 infections on Saturday, December 25. Italy reported a third successive record tally of COVID-19 cases with new infections hitting 54,762 against 50,599 a day earlier, the health ministry said. The number of coronavirus-related deaths rose to 144 from 141 on Friday. Italy has registered 136,530 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. It has reported 5.57 million cases to date. Patients in hospital with COVID-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 8,892 on Saturday, up from 8,812 on Friday. There were 106 new admissions to intensive care units, against 102 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 1,071 from a previous 1,038. Some 969,752 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 929,775 the health ministry said.

Meanwhile, France recorded a record high of 104,611 COVID-19 infections, breaking the 100,000 threshold for the first time since the pandemic began as the omicron variant continued its rapid spread. Health authorities said the number of COVID patients in intensive care went up by 28 to 3,282.

UK reports new record of 122,186 COVID cases

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain reported a new record 122,186 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, up from 119,789 on Thursday. Government data showed there were 137 new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, down from 147 on Thursday, and bringing the total during the pandemic to 147,857.

Irish COVID-19 infections hit record

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland on Friday reported its highest number of daily COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began but those requiring critical care fell further amid a rapid rollout of booster vaccines to battle a surge of the dominant Omicron variant. The health department reported 11,182 positive cases, topping the 8,248 on January 8 during the country’s deadliest wave. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital peaked at 2,020 in mid-January, with a barely manageable 221 requiring critical care. There are currently 393 coronavirus patients in hospital, 89 of whom were in intensive care. Admissions have almost halved over the last month following an increase through October and November that prompted the government to tighten restrictions. NN: Its beyond i told you so. Its a blatant coverup exposed. And inept leadership… Test no tests masks no masks… admitting toilet paper masks do not work. Still they are behind the power curve. N95 masks are marginal protection. Want proof… thousands of health care workers are getting infected every single day. And new records of people getting infected are being reported country after country. Now the latest bullshit is the dominant Omicron variant is not as deadly as Delta mutation…. More bullshit. Its to early to tell. But preliminary suppressed data suggest its just as deadly if not more so AND if your vaccine is more then 4 months old you are vulnerable….

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Biden says no one saw Omicron 4th wave coming…For the record I did and starting barking in August

President Biden is defending his administration’s response to the omicron variant of COVID as Americans struggle to get tested amid a potent new surge of cases and illness. “You could argue that we should have known,” Biden told ABC News in an exclusive sit-down interview that aired Thursday night. “Nothing has been good enough.” He rebuffed accusations that the administration should have prepared for a lightning-spreading strain of COVID like omicron by making sure testing capacity could handle any surge. “You’re chasing whatever comes on the scene,” Biden said. “No one saw it coming. Who in the world saw it coming?” NN: I did and so said Biden heads into the end-of-year holidays in a major political slump, his standing dented both by setbacks in Congress and inflation that has rattled consumers. But he is betting that his ability to lead America out of the crippling pandemic will eventually win back the legion of supporters that sent him to the White House with a record-setting 81 million votes. Biden told World News Tonight host John Muir that he’s proud of getting lifesaving vaccines in the arms of more than 200 million Americans. He also boasted about ordering some 20 million doses of the newly approved Pfizer pill to treat COVID, which some doctors believe will be a game-changer in the roller coaster fight against the pandemic. “I hope we don’t even need them,“ the president said. “If people get two shots and the booster, they’re not going be in a position where they would need the pills.” Biden also dropped some political news, making it clearer than ever that he plans to seek a second four-year term in the White House in 2024 if he’s healthy. He insisted he would welcome a potential rematch with former President Donald Trump, suggesting he would relish the chance to whip his rival again. “Why would I not run against Trump?” Biden said. “If he’s the nominee … that would increase the prospect.” NN: Do you remember when they destroyed the test kits, How about CDC telling vaccinated people no need to wear masks. So do not let them shit you.The experts were so fast to declare victory they ignored the science. And million of people will be dead in the next 90 days…….

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Two years to late The CDC Wants Your Masks to Meet New Standards

https://youtu.be/kn2xWB0sqhE

Masks have–understandably—been incredibly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, though when officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that people who are fully vaccinated against the virus no longer needed to mask up, there was certainly a temporary drop in use.

Those recommendations have now changed and, with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the country along with a recent sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases, people are suddenly paying more attention to their masks once more. This being said, new CDC guidelines for masks are now in place.

If you’ve been using the same type of face mask since the pandemic started, it’s important to know that the CDC now has very specific recommendations on what, exactly, to look for in a face mask. That includes newer designations issued by the ASTM International and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that help specify exactly which masks in the U.S. are considered high quality. Overall, the CDC recommends wearing a mask made of at least two layers or more of washable, breathable fabric that completely covers your nose and mouth. The mask should also fit snugly against the sides of your face and not have gaps. The CDC also suggests having a mask with a nose wire to help you get a secure fit and prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask. But the CDC also suggests looking for masks that meet new standards from the ASTM and NIOSH. These masks “are designed and tested to ensure they perform at a consistent level.” Masks that meet one of these designations should also have a label that explicitly state that they’ve met one of these designations

  • Meets ASTM F3502. This designation means that the masks are able to be used as “a means of source control for individual wearers by reducing the number of expelled droplets and aerosols from the wearer’s nose and mouth into the air,” per the ASTM. It also means that they, “potentially offer a degree of particulate filtration to reduce the amount of inhaled particulate matter by the wearer,” ASTM says. Among other things, these masks must:
    • Cover the wearer’s nose and mouth and fit snugly against the sides of the face and nose without gaps in a design analysis.
    • Have a way to keep the mask over the nose and mouth for the expected period of use and range of activities.
    • Have non-irritating and nontoxic materials where the mask contacts the skin.
    • Be either disposable masks or reusable masks.
    • Be able to be worn by people with a range of fit characteristics (excluding children under age 2), or designed with multiple sizes to allow fit for a wide variety of people.
  • Meets Workplace Performance. This NIOSH designation means that a mask must meet the ASTM standards, along with providing at least 50% filtration. They also must be breathable and have a leakage ratio of greater than or equal to five. (A higher leakage ratio number means that fewer particles escape around the edges, indicating products provide better source control across users with a variety of facial sizes, NIOSH says.)
  • Meets Workplace Performance Plus. This is the best designation a face mask can have. It indicates that a mask meets ASTM standards and provides at least 80% filtration. These masks also must be breathable and have a leakage ratio of 10 or greater. Infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, agrees. “It’s important to have criteria for the performance of masks so that customers can understand that not all masks are equal and some have been tested to document their performance,” he says. “Standards were important to develop so that manufacturers had a goal to aim for.” But, Collins says, the F3502 standard alone is not overly helpful. “Since the standard only covers 30% to 50% protection (Level 1) and greater than 50% (Level 2), it can be confusing to the customer,” he says. “If you buy a F3502 mask, currently the range of filtration is 22% to 99% from various manufacturers. How does that help the consumer?” Collins points out, though, that all masks that have received one of these designations are listed on the CDC’s website, along with data about the level of protection they provide. So, you’re able to look into specifics before you buy a new mask. Dr. Russo stresses the importance of having a well-performing mask that’s also comfortable to wear. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter about the performance characteristics of the mask if it’s not comfortable and you’re not going to wear it,” he says. NN: as you know i have been in the mask dog fight for two years. I was so frustrated i engineered and had custom made our Salvavida mask and filter. It exceeds all guidelines in ever matrix using biolab filter material. And it exceeds all European standards…… and the good part it is reusable. We also offer on our shopping link the proper N95 masks NOISH certified as a second choice. follow this link and scroll down the page Highest level of protection masks and filters. we also have a line of masks for kiddies. Use this link to see our selection of masks for kiddie. Our line of kiddie FUN masks and filters Is it not scarey that they got half way their on their masks guidelines 2 years to late. I shudder to think of the numbers of people who got sicks and died using these toilet paper coffee filter masks…….
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Austria’s vaccine board recommends fourth COVID jab for some

ZURICH (Reuters) – Austria should offer some healthcare staff and other key workers a fourth COVID-19 jab, the National Vaccination Board said in updated guidance published late on Thursday, citing risks from the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus. But it said there was not enough scientific data for it to recommend fourth shots be given more widely. “In view of an imminent Omicron wave, (a fourth vaccination) can be offered in high-risk areas (e.g., exposed health care personnel) and in systemically critical areas from six months after the third vaccination,” the board said. Austria said on Wednesday it will tighten restrictions again from Dec. 27 to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. In November, the government announced a fourth national lockdown and said it would make vaccinations compulsory for all Austrians, the first European Union country to do so. While that three-week lockdown slashed daily COVID-19 infections from record levels, the country is bracing for another surge. Several hundred Omicron cases have been confirmed already. In its updated guidelines, the National Vaccination Board said fourth COVID-19 shots could be given “off label” to groups in healthcare and other critical areas following medical consultation. “There is still no evidence that this additional vaccination can prevent infections. However, it can be it can be assumed that serious illnesses can be prevented,” it said.

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S&P 500 hits record close as Omicron fears ebb

(Dec 24): Wall Street’s main indexes posted solid gains for a third straight session on Thursday, with the S&P 500 marking a record-high close, as encouraging developments gave investors more ease about the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Stocks ended the holiday-shortened week on a positive note, lifting sentiment heading into Christmas. Gains were broad among S&P 500 sectors, led by consumer discretionary and industrials, which both rose about 1.2%. Vaccine makers AstraZeneca Plc and Novavax Inc said their shots protected against Omicron as UK data suggested it may cause proportionally fewer hospital cases than the Delta variant, though public health experts warned the battle against COVID-19 was far from over. The arrival of Omicron has helped ratchet up market volatility for much of the last month of 2021, which has been a strong year for equities. “There was a lot of negative sentiment coming into the final part of the year, and investors have likely continued to see pretty strong economic growth and pretty positive developments as it relates to healthcare innovation around COVID and that is putting in a bit of a bid into equities and causing investors to look to allocate capital as they close out the year,” said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 196.67 points, or 0.55%, to 35,950.56, the S&P 500 gained 29.23 points, or 0.62%, to 4,725.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 131.48 points, or 0.85%, to 15,653.37. Defensive sectors, which have mostly outperformed in December, generally lagged on Thursday. The real estate sector fell 0.4%. The S&P 500 has gained for three days, after falling in the three prior sessions. “People are seeing the strength on Tuesday and Wednesday and all of a sudden everybody is more optimistic again,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.3%, the Dow gained about 1.7% and the Nasdaq climbed 3.2%. Trading volumes were expected to be thinner than usual ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays. The stock market will be closed on Friday in observance of the Christmas holiday. The S&P 500 is up about 26% so far this year. Still, the environment for equities could be changing heading into next year as the Federal Reserve is expected to begin raising interest rates in 2022. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.40-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.22-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 80 new lows. About 8 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 11.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. NN: The markets are ignoring the Omicron mutant hyper spread. But the real 2 ton guerilla is the fact that the Fed has let the inflation genie out of the bottle. The only way to reverse this crises is to drive interest rates high enough to throw the economy into a deep dark recession. Raising rates by at least 400 bases points nest year. This action will crash the stock, bond and real estate market into what will be a crash!

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United, Delta cancel more than 200 U.S. Christmas Eve flights amid COVID surge

(Reuters) – United Airlines and Delta Air Lines on Thursday said they had each canceled dozens of Christmas Eve flights, as the spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant takes a toll on its flight crews and other workers. Chicago-based United canceled 120 flights for Friday, while Atlanta-based Delta said it has canceled about 90. Both said they were working to contact passengers so they would not be stranded at airports. “The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport,” United said. Delta said it has “exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling around 90 flights for Friday.” Delta cited potential inclement weather and the impact of the Omicron variant for the cancellations. On Tuesday, Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian asked the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to shrink quarantine guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals who experience breakthrough COVID-19 infections, citing the impact on the carrier’s workforce. Bastian asked that the isolation period be cut to five days from the current 10. That request was echoed both by Airlines for America, a trade group representing major cargo and passenger carriers, which wrote to the CDC on Thursday, and by JetBlue on Wednesday. The CDC released updated quarantine guidance for healthcare workers on Thursday, cutting the isolation time to seven days for workers who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic, providing they test negative. NN: As i have been telling you the sold out politicians are not going to lock her down… Its OK as you are seeing the shut downs have started..

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France adds record 91,608 COVID infections….. Britain reported more than 100,000 cases for a second straight day

(Bloomberg) — French Covid-19 infections hit a record as the spread of the more easily transmissible omicron variant gathered pace across much of Europe.  New daily cases totaled 91,608 in France on Thursday, public health office data show. That surpassed the previous high of almost 87,000 from November of last year. Health Minister Olivier Veran said earlier this week that the omicron strain will become dominant in France during the period between Christmas and New Year’s, and that infections will likely reach 100,000 a day by the end of December. On Thursday, he said the threshold will probably be crossed closer to Dec. 25 than Dec. 31, BFM TV reported. French authorities are watching trends in the U.K., which has 10 to 14 days lead time in terms of progression of omicron over France, Veran said this week.

Britain reported more than 100,000 cases for a second straight day on Thursday.

Before this month, the U.K. had never registered more than 70,000 cases in a day. Italy on Thursday also reported a record high number of cases. Early studies out of South Africa, Scotland and England show the highly mutated omicron variant appears less likely to land patients in the hospital than previous strains. The findings raise hopes there will be fewer cases of severe disease, yet omicron’s greater infectiousness means it could still severely strain health services. France’s hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions have been rising, but not as quickly as cases, and remain well below previous pandemic peaks. NN: You need to hunker down…..

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Biden Omicron measures too little, too late for fast-moving virus -experts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s steps to backstop hospitals and distribute coronavirus test kits, however welcome, are too little too late to stem a surge of Omicron-related coronavirus cases over Christmas and New Year’s, health experts said. A day after Biden outlined plans to distribute 500 million at-home coronavirus test kits, Anne Rimoin, a UCLA professor of epidemiology, praised his focus on testing, a “critical tool” that the United States was “woefully” behind on.

“Unfortunately, it’s late in coming and will be a small drop in the bucket compared to the tsunami of cases on the horizon.”

The tests promised by the White House starting in January equate to just 1 or 2 per U.S. resident. Households need far more to make daily decisions about exposure, Rimoin said. “We need those tests now,” she said. U.S. testing is behind the curve because of a lack of skilled workers, a shortage of at-home tests and under-investment in recent months, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials, health providers and testmakers. Biden, a Democrat who took office in January, campaigned on a promise to take control of the pandemic, which his predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, played down as hundreds of thousands died. He has focused largely on persuading Americans to get vaccinated, amid pushback from many Republican leaders who reject vaccine and masking rules and an anti-vaccination movement fueled by conspiracy theories on social media. The U.S. recently passed 800,000 deaths , the most in the world, and its vaccination rate lags most rich nations. Biden’s latest measures, including new pop-up vaccination clinics run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal testing sites in the hot spot of New York City and elsewhere, were welcomed by health experts and local politicians. Biden said some 1,000 military doctors, nurses and medics had been deployed to support hospitals. He stressed the unvaccinated carried the bulk of the burden of health risks. Asked about the tests shortage in an interview broadcast on ABC late on Wednesday, the president said, “No, nothing’s been good enough,” adding, “I wish I had thought about ordering” 500 million at-home tests “two months ago.” State and local leaders in New York, where Omicron is surging, said they supported Biden’s approach. But other academics criticized Biden for reassuring Americans that schools and businesses could remain open and that the vaccinated could safely gather without emphasizing the risks they face if they fail to get a booster shot.

Breakthrough Omicron infections are rising among the 61% of the country’s fully vaccinated population; only 30% have gotten booster shots said to provide more protection.

“He kept reiterating, ‘vaccines work, vaccines work,’ like a mantra, a talisman,” tweeted Gregg Gonsalves, a Yale University professor of epidemiology, adding Biden should have made clear a booster shot was key to protecting against the Omicron variant. He said Biden should have made masks a more integral part of the response. “And on masks? Bupkis. Get people N95s and other better masks,” he wrote. “This sounded like an administration caught flat-footed, running to play catch-up.” “There’s a tidal wave of infection coming, and I would have liked to see the president emphasize that all of us – whether vaccinated or boosted or unvaccinated – can do more to minimize transmission risks,” said Joshua Salomon, a Stanford University professor of health policy. The World Health Organization urged people to cancel holiday gatherings, saying they would result in “overwhelmed health systems and more deaths.” Instead the White House said on Tuesday it was following CDC guidance https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/celebrations.html, which includes recommending masks in indoor public settings and self-testing before gatherings with another household. “They’re going to the path of least resistance now. They know people are tired, people are fed up. They know that any talk of any harsher measures … will get met by vociferous pushback from the Republicans,” Gonsalves said. While that decision may have averted further political backlash, some saw it as a lost opportunity, including Harvard Professor Bill Hanage, who said he understood why lockdowns were unpalatable but described curbing activities as a useful tool. “It takes time to send rapid tests out,” he said.

“People can choose right now to not go to the holiday party because they want to see Grandma on Christmas Day,” Hanage said.

Some U.S. cities, states and businesses have wasted no time in imposing fresh mask and vaccine mandates or cancelling events, often going far beyond White House recommendations. NN: they should have started all this BEFORE flue season back in August.. Now its to late!

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Britain reports record 119,789 new COVID-19 case

There has been a record further 119,789 Covid cases recorded in the UK in the past 24 hours. The figure tops the previous highest of 106,122 covid cases recorded yesterday – which surpassed the previous high of 93,045 recorded on 17 December. The record case numbers come after health secretary Sajid Javid said today the Government will not be making any announcements about future Covid restrictions in England before Christmas. Javid said: “We are not planning any further announcements this week. Despite the caution that we are all taking, people should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends – of course, remain cautious. “We will keep the situation under review. We are learning more all the time as we have done from this new data … and if we need to do anything more we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas.” The health secretary also discussed two reports published this week, which found people infected with Omicron are at less risk of being hospitalised than people infected with the Delta, the last dominant variant before Omicros. He said the studies were “of course good, encouraging news” – but said the studies were “not very clear yet … by how much that risk is reduced”. Mr Javid continued: “We do know with Omicron that it does spread a lot more quickly, it is a lot more infectious than Delta, so any advantage gained from reduced risk of hospitalisation needs to be set against that. If a much smaller percentage of people are at risk of hospitalisation, if that is a smaller percentage of a much larger number, there could still be significant hospitalisation.” Mr Javid  comments come after Boris Johnson promised on Tuesday there would not be any further measures before the festive day and stressed restrictions were being continuously reviewed. According to Office for Nation Statistics figures published today, there has been a record number of UK Covid cases recorded in a single week – after 1 in 45 people in the UK were found to have contracted the virus in the week ending December 16.There was also believed to be a record 1.4 million recorded in the same period – ​the highest number since comparable figures began in autumn 2020.

NN: of course they have not arrived at the hospitals yet. Its 2x2x2. Two weeks from testing positive to the emergency room. Two weeks on the ventilater and two weeks before they report it. People are spending a average of 8 weeks on the ventilater before they recover or die. In other words it too early to claim the Omicron is less deadlier