AFP, Published on Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 2:46 pm.

Europe is increasing sanctions and warnings when the United States denies “panic”: an active Joe Biden assured Tuesday that the world’s leading power was “ready” in the face of a surge of the Omicron variant.

“We may be seeing another storm,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe.

“Omicron is dominating, or has already formed, in many countries, including Denmark, Portugal and the UK, where numbers are doubling every one and a half to three days, resulting in unprecedented rates of transmission.” , he continued.

In response to the wave, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Tuesday that more than 60 Israeli and medical staff would be entitled to a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine after consultation with the group’s experts.

Already also prominent in the United States, the new variant is spreading at lightning speed around the world, causing record contamination, as did Spain, which reported 49,823 cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours.

“I know you’re tired. (…) I know you’ve had enough. We all want it to end, but we’re still in the middle of it. And we’re at a critical moment, Joe Biden said his compatriot from the White House.

And to add: “We have more equipment than ever before. We are ready.”

As he said a few weeks ago, the US president reiterated in the address about 70% of Americans being fully or partially vaccinated: “We must not panic.”

– Free Trial –

Democrats, whose levers at the federal level are limited anyway, called for schools to remain open and promised the United States would not grant relief in spring 2020.

The US federal government will hand out 500 million free tests – starting in January – to see if it calms recurring criticism of inadequate screening in the United States, where lines are drawn in front of testing centers every day.

Joe Biden’s strategy is in sharp contrast to the tough decisions taken, especially in Europe.

– “continue playing” –

New Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that Germans would not be able to meet more than ten vaccinated people, or two without vaccinations, for the holidays.

Clubs and discos will also close their doors across the country. And all sporting events, especially football matches, will now take place behind closed doors.

African Football is underway: Despite persistent rumors of a postponement or cancellation, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed that the African Cup of Nations will indeed be held in Cameroon from 9 January to 6 February.

Boss Adam Silver said on Tuesday that the NBA, the North American basketball championship, also has no plans to disrupt the current season.

“This virus is not going to go away and we have to learn to live with it,” he said.

The Netherlands has closed shops, cinemas or restaurants deemed non-essential.

Teleworking will become mandatory in Portugal for two weeks and bars and nightclubs will remain closed.

Faced with record contamination figures, Finland has specifically decided that the bar should close at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

– A 10th commentary –

There are currently no plans to turn this type of screw in France, where about 20% of new cases of COVID-19 now fall under Omicron.

In the United Kingdom, among the most severely affected (more than 90,000 contamination per day), the government on Tuesday released a billion pounds to companies suffering the consequences of the variant.

According to WHO scientific head Soumya Swaminathan, the first data from South Africa shows that hospitalizations related to Omicron are lower than in previous delta waves.

The WHO on Tuesday gave immediate approval for a new vaccine against COVID, which US company Novavax – the 10th one it approves thus – with more classic technology and already widely used in the European Union. different from vaccines.

Joe Biden also stands out on international travel. He said he would “consider” lifting the ban on entry into the United States, which pertains to the eight African countries where Omicron had begun to spread.

Other countries, by contrast, are increasing restrictions. Israel on Tuesday added the United States and several other countries to its red list of nearly 50 states with restrictions on travel.

The pandemic has killed at least 5.36 million people worldwide since the outbreak of the disease was reported by the WHO office in China in late December 2019, undoubtedly far from reality, according to a report set up by AFP on Tuesday. is less.