Swamped by omicron, contact tracing is forced to adapt : Shots
Contact tracing programs around the country have been struggling to keep up with demand during the last several coronavirus surges. Here, contact tracer Cherie Hunter works from her home in Tinley Park, Ill., to reach people who have tested positive for COVID-19. Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Image hide caption toggle caption Antonio […]
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How Long Is Contagious Period for Omicron, Delta?
UK health officials estimated the impact of different isolation periods on COVID-19 infectiousness. Five days from symptoms or a positive test, 31% of people with COVID-19 were contagious, they said. Testing negative on rapid tests on days 5 and 6 cut the risk of being infectious to 7%, they said. Loading Something is loading. It’s […]
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6 reasons not to get omicron right now : Shots
Keith Bishop/Getty Images Keith Bishop/Getty Images Millions of people are testing positive with COVID-19 in the U.S. each week and the FDA warns that most Americans will get the virus at some point. With growing evidence that the omicron variant likely causes milder disease, some people may be thinking: Why not encourage omicron to infect […]
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Australia’s jet fuel demand battered by omicron, but medium-term outlook brighter
Highlights Qantas Group cuts flight capacity as staff, holiday-makers isolate due to omicron Australia’s 2022 jet fuel demand seen around 46% below 2019 levels: Platts Analytics But Asian jet fuel prices elevated by tight supply The prospects of near-term recovery in Australia’s jet fuel demand remain bleak as a surge in omicron infections upend staffing […]
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Omicron Roils Australia’s Exit From Zero-Covid Strategy
ADELAIDE, Australia—Australia’s shift to living with Covid-19 after keeping cases near zero for much of the pandemic was based on a bet that a high vaccination rate would limit severe illness and hospitalizations. On both scores, this country of 26 million people is doing well. Evidence so far suggests the Omicron variant, which accounts for […]
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Asia stocks rise as investors continue assessing omicron variant risk
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher in Wednesday trade as investors continued to assess the impact of the omicron Covid variant. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.34% as of its final hour of trading, paring earlier gains of more than 1%. Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed, with the Shanghai composite slipping slightly […]
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New Zealand and Other Asia Pacific Countries Respond to Omicron
New Zealand said on Tuesday that it was pushing back a phased opening of its borders to the end of February, in another indication of how countries throughout the Asia Pacific region are scrambling to respond to the threat of the Omicron variant. New Zealand also postponed its plans to allow its citizens living in […]
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Omicron forces Asian countries to abandon reopening of borders
The Omicron coronavirus variant has brought the slow reopening of Asia to a juddering halt as governments rush to reimpose travel restrictions even though the new strain is already circulating in the local community. Thailand and Singapore this week joined Japan in closing their borders to most foreign travellers. All three countries have reported domestic […]
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