SYDNEY (AP) — Australia saw another day of rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on Thursday amid fears that changes to testing requirements could mask the full scale of the outbreak.
The country reported 72,000 cases, up from 64,000 a day earlier, while hospitalizations jumped to 3,267 from 2,990 and patients in intensive care rose to 208 from 196.
Victoria state recorded six deaths and 21,997 new cases, the biggest daily jump in cases since the pandemic began.
Queensland reported more than 10,000 cases as health officials warned that many more undetected cases were likely spreading in the community.
New South Wales saw 34,994 new cases, slightly down from the record number of 35,054 on Wednesday. A double-vaccinated man in his 20s was among six deaths reported Thursday in Australia's most populous state.
The case numbers do not necessarily reflect the true spread of the virus as they only count the number of recorded cases.
At a news conference on Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended a new policy that Australians no longer need to take a PCR test to confirm a positive rapid antigen test. The change was made in a national cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders on Wednesday.
"Case numbers are less of an issue," Morrison said. "It is connecting to care that is the issue, and the Commonwealth provides telehealth support to people to be able to do that and get advice on how they can manage their infection at home and, should matters escalate, to seek further assistance."
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BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Vaccination of Brazilian children between the ages of 5 and 11 will begin in January, without the demand for prescriptions from doctors the government had previously signaled, officials from the health ministry announced Wednesday.
The government’s guidelines come almost three weeks after the health regulator authorized use of Pfizer’s shot for children, setting off backlash from none other than President Jair Bolsonaro. After sowing doubt about the efficacy of the vaccine and refusing to be vaccinated himself last year, in recent weeks the president staked out a position opposing vaccines for kids and warning of possible side effects.
A study released in late December by U.S. health authorities confirmed that serious side effects of the Pfizer vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 are rare. The results were based on approximately 8 million doses dispensed to youngsters in this age group.
Taking a cue from Bolsonaro, his health ministry last month published an online questionnaire about the issue, and some of the president’s supporters also leery of the vaccine actively engaged on messaging apps trying to pressure people to swing the results.
They failed: the majority of the survey's almost 100,000 participants opposed the need for a doctor's script, a health ministry official said in a public hearing on Tuesday, without providing figures. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Minister Queiroga also didn’t disclose what percentage of respondents opposed prescriptions.
“With regard to the prescription, a public consultation was done. We heard society, specialists,” said Queiroga. “It isn’t backtracking; it is part of the decision-making process. A recommendation has been made.”
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MIAMI (AP) — Hundreds of passengers who embarked on an 11-day cruise from Miami were returned to port Wednesday after less than two days at sea because several dozen crew members got infected with COVID-19.
The pandemic also prompted a last-minute cancelation of another cruise that was scheduled to depart Wednesday. Norwegian Cruise Line said it was canceling sailings on eight of its ships in the U.S. and abroad to protect the health and safety of guests, crew members and communities.
Cheryl Rogers, of Starke, Florida, was among the passengers that were returned to Miami on the Norwegian Pearl, which had only left port Monday. Rogers says travelers were told crew members fell ill with the coronavirus.
Matt Daly, of Surf City, North Carolina, said he drove to Miami and was supposed to leave Wednesday on the Norwegian Getaway for a five-day cruise. It was canceled late Tuesday, but Daly and his wife were driving overnight and did not see the notification until they arrived at the port Wednesday.
“I'm never leaving North Carolina,” Daly said. “Too much of a hassle.”
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PARIS (AP) — France announced a staggering 332,252 daily virus cases Wednesday, smashing a string of recent records, as hospitals prepared drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government strained to avoid a new lockdown.
With Europe’s highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count, France is facing an omicron-driven surge that is dominating the race for April’s presidential election and increasingly disrupting workplaces, schools and public life.
But the country also has one of the world's most-vaccinated populations, so the government is hoping the sweeping infections won’t hit hospitals as badly as at the start of the pandemic, and is pushing the small minority of unvaccinated people to get inoculated fast.
France's weekly average of virus cases has doubled in the past 10 days, with more than 1,800 people out of 100,000 testing positive over the past week, according to the government health agency.
The number of virus patients in hospitals has been on an upward trajectory for two months, and more than 72% of French ICU beds are now occupied by people with COVID-19.
The surge has prompted authorities to allow health care workers who are infected with the coronavirus to keep treating patients rather than self-isolate, to ease staff shortages at medical facilities.
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Wednesday reported its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic as the rapidly-spreading omicron variant takes hold.
The Health Ministry recorded 66,467 new cases and 143 deaths in the past 24 hours. The previous peak, reached on April 16, was 63,082 infections.
Despite the surge, the country is not so far considering introducing new restrictions but is urging people to continue to wear masks and to practice social distancing. Turkey is determined to keep schools open, officials have repeatedly said.
“Despite the increase in the number of cases with the omicron variant, there is no alarming increase in hospitalizations,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter. Still, he asked people to exercise caution, especially during hospital visits.
Separately, in a statement released following a weekly meeting of the country’s coronavirus advisory council, Koca said Turkey was reducing the quarantine period for people who have tested positive to seven days. People who test negative on the fifth day of the quarantine will be allowed to end their isolation, he said.
People who have received booster shots or contracted the virus in the last three months would not be forced into quarantine if they have had contact with an infected person, Koca added.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s public health authorities on Wednesday advised restaurants, cultural venues and leisure centers to ask their customers to show digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination starting next week.
The recommendation from the Swedish Public Health Agency isn’t a legal requirement but voluntary guidance for businesses. Sweden’s digital certificates only show vaccination status — not proof of a negative test or recent recovery from COVID-19.
As of Jan. 12, locations can introduce certificates as entry requirements “in more activities where the risk of spreading of the infection is great,” Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren said.
Besides restaurants, they include cultural venues such as museums and theaters, leisure facilities such as gyms and swimming pools, and long-distance public transportation, the government said in a statement.
Currently, the passes only are used for public gatherings and indoor events of more than 100 people.
“The spread of COVID-19 is increasing in Sweden. We need to be prepared to quickly introduce more accurate infection-control measures,” Hallengren said.
Sweden reported a record-smashing 17,320 new daily cases on Wednesday.
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LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Authorities in Portugal are wrestling with a conundrum: how to hold a general election scheduled for Jan. 30 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases that is confining hundreds of thousands of potential voters to their homes.
Around 400,000 people are currently in isolation in the country of 10.3 million, and political leaders said Wednesday they are trying to figure out how to organize the ballot.
The surge shows no signs of slowing. The number of officially recorded new daily infections hit a new record Wednesday, reaching almost 40,000. The health ministry reported 14 deaths in the country, where 88% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Portugal has officially reported between 20,000-30,000 new infections a day recently. The highly infectious omicron variant and increased testing due to the requirement to show a negative test to enter restaurants and sports events, among other venues, are blamed for the record numbers.
Officials are considering waiving isolation rules so that people can vote, or reducing isolation periods, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said.
Another option is to make available more polling stations and voting booths, to avoid crowds gathering, and extend early voting possibilities, he told reporters.