A city near Beijing, the site of next month’s Winter Olympics, has begun a mass COVID testing campaign because of the discovery of at least 40 omicron cases over a two-day period. Officials have initiated restrictions on Tianjin’s residents in an effort to prevent the spread of the outbreak. Bus and train services between Tianjin and Beijing have been suspended.
The U.K. is set to begin a public service campaign urging pregnant women to get their COVID inoculations, after the Department of Health and Social Care discovered that 96.3% of pregnant women who were admitted to hospitals with COVID symptoms were unvaccinated.
The Cyprus Mail reports that a University of Cyprus scientist and his team have discovered a new COVID variant. Dr. Leontios Kostrikis told the publication that deltacron has the genetic background of the delta variant and some of the mutations of omicron.
“The frequency of the mutations was higher among those in hospital which could mean there is a correlation between deltacron and hospitalizations,” Kostrikis told The Mail.
India’s health ministry said Monday that it has recorded a daily toll of 179,723 new COVID cases in the previous 24-hour period.
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has tested positive for COVID. A statement from her office said: “She is experiencing symptoms and recovering at home. The Congresswoman received her booster shot this Fall and encourages everyone to get their booster and follow all CDC guidance.”
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Monday that it has recorded over 307 million global COVID cases and 5.5 million deaths. The center said 9.4 billion vaccines have been administered.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
