Omicron accounted for 100% of new cases in Italy, Korea completely lifted isolation measures

The country most affected by the epidemic COVID-19 still America with over 82.27 million cases and over 1,015 million deaths. In the past day, the US recorded more than 17,000 people SARS-CoV-2 virus infection.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved the emergency use of the first domestically-developed COVID-19 respiratory diagnostic test machine. The COVID-19 breath test kit is about the size of a carry-on suitcase, allowing to detect chemicals in the breath that appear when the body is infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Testing can be done in doctor’s offices, hospitals and mobile testing stations where samples can be collected and analyzed. Results will be available in 3 minutes.

The COVID-19 breathalyzer has been proven effective in a large study of more than 2,400 participants, which included people with the disease with and without symptoms. The test results show that this test instrument has a sensitivity of 91.2% and a clarity and accuracy of 99.3%.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer (USA) and BioNTech (Germany) confirmed that the third dose of their vaccines can provide significant protection against the Omicron variant in healthy children aged 5 to 11 years. According to Pfizer and BioNTech, the serological test results of 30 children who received a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine showed that the concentration of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron increased 36 times. Neutralizing antibodies against the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus increased 6 times after booster injection.

The study was performed to test the safety and immunogenicity in 140 healthy children aged 5-11 years, after a booster dose of 10 micrograms. The dose for the injection in adults is 30 micrograms. Pfizer and BioNTech said they plan to apply for authorization for emergency use of the booster nasal vaccine in children 5-11 years old in the US in the next few days.

At the world’s second largest COVID-19 epidemic center Indiaon April 15, the country recorded a total of nearly 43.04 million people with COVID-19, including more than 521,700 deaths from COVID-19 in this South Asian country.

Brazil Currently, it is the world’s 3rd largest epidemic hotspot with more than 661,800 COVID-19 patients out of a total of over 30.23 million infected people in this country.

The spread of COVID-19 is decreasing in Italy. (Photo: AP)

Ministry of Health and National Institutes of Health Italy (ISS) said that the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus currently accounts for 100% of new COVID-19 cases in this country, of which the BA.2 subtype accounts for the majority. This data comes after the Italian Ministry of Health and the ISS carried out a quick survey with regional laboratories and the Fondazione Bruno Kessler Foundation.

The spread of COVID-19 is decreasing in this country with the number of new cases in the week from April 6 to 12, down 6.5% compared to the previous week. The number of deaths related to COVID-19 also decreased by 11.4%, while the number of COVID-19 patients requiring emergency room decreased by 1.7% and the number of people hospitalized decreased by 0.4%.

The figures show that the COVID-19 pandemic is in a steady decline in Italy, but the level of spread is still high with about 60,000 new cases per day and about 1.2 million people testing positive for the SARS virus. -CoV-2. To prevent the disease, people still need to avoid large gatherings and use masks when in enclosed spaces.

In a speech on April 15, ProtectHealth’s CEO (CEO) of MalaysiaDr. Anas Alam Faizli, stated, as Malaysia moves to the stage of treating COVID-19 as endemic disease, it is important to continue to provide optimal protection for the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those at high risk. The planning of a second booster shot is one such effort, especially as Hari Raya – Islam’s biggest festival – approaches.

On April 15, this Southeast Asian country recorded 10,413 new cases, bringing the total number of cases nationwide to over 4.36 million cases. Of the new cases, there are 13,202 people infected in the community and 27 imported cases. In addition, with 18 more patients who did not survive, the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country is now 35,381 patients. The total number of recovered cases is more than 4.2 million.

Ministry of Health Laos International visitors who have been infected with COVID-19 do not need a PCR test before entering the country. This is part of the Lao Government’s plan to open up the whole country.

According to the new regulations, people entering Laos need to have PCR test results within 72 hours from the time of taking samples for testing, but people who have recovered from COVID-19 only need a certificate from a health authority. Tourists arriving in Laos only need to take a quick test, the time to wait for the results will depend on the number of people entering at each time. If the rapid test result is negative, the traveler can enter the country without isolation, otherwise, the person who gives a positive result will be assessed for symptoms for isolation at the hotel if mild or taken away. Treatment at medical facilities if severe.

The Lao Ministry of Health is asking airports, road border gates to prepare testing sites and waste treatment systems to meet the new mechanism. In the recent extraordinary meeting, the Lao government agreed in principle to the proposal to open the country to tourists and asked the authorities to develop a specific mechanism for practical implementation.

Ministry of Health Philippines warned of the possibility of a spike in COVID-19 cases in mid-May if people reduce compliance with epidemic prevention measures. Accordingly, if compliance with medical procedures decreases by 20%, the number of new cases in May could fall to nearly 35,000 cases per day. If compliance drops by as much as 30%, the number of cases could skyrocket to 300,000 in the same time period. Metro Manila could see 25,000 to 60,000 new cases per day, three times the number of cases during the Omicron wave if health protocol compliance is reduced by 50%.

Philippine health officials urge people to wear appropriate masks, isolate when showing symptoms and complete the necessary vaccinations.

South Korea will lift restrictive measures against the epidemic. (Photo: AP)

Goverment Korea decided to completely lift social distancing measures against COVID-19 from April 18, except for the mandatory requirement to wear masks both indoors and outdoors. With the decision announced on the morning of April 15, restrictions such as limiting the business hours of restaurants and cafes to 24 hours, private gatherings up to 10 people, outdoor events up to 299 people. .. will all be deleted. Eating and drinking at cinemas and performance halls will be allowed. The mask wearing regulation will still be imposed and the Government will review it after 2 weeks of implementing the new regulation.

The new regulation brings Korea officially back to daily life, ending 757 days of implementing distance measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea began imposing social distancing measures from March 22, 2020.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in Wuhan at the end of 2019, April 14 is the first time China recorded nearly 30,000 infections, including asymptomatic positive cases, in one day. Shanghai continues to be the epicenter of the epidemic with 27,800 cases on April 14.

The number of infections increased for 12 consecutive days, the Shanghai Health Commission expert explained, due to extensive testing, epidemics of infection in family chains, with mainly fast-spreading and potential stealth Omicrons. Although no deaths have been recorded, with an aging population, the city government is worried when there have been a number of serious cases. Some districts are loosening travel to reduce the supply of food and medicine, but most of Shanghai is under a total blockade. Authorities warned that they would strictly handle cases of blockade violations and called on all people to unite against the epidemic.

On April 15, Shanghai city officials (China) said they were strengthening the management of nursing facilities across the city amid a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases here. On April 15, Shanghai recorded more than 23,000 cases of COVID-19, lower than the previous day’s 27,000, including 3,200 symptomatic cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that it is not yet possible to consider COVID-19 as an endemic disease. The reason is that there is still a high risk of outbreaks of large epidemics around the world. According to WHO, it would be a mistake to assume that when the COVID-19 pandemic gradually cooled down and became an endemic disease, all problems would be solved.

According to WHO, COVID-19 has not yet subsided or become a seasonal disease, but this disease still has the potential to lead to large epidemics. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is still spreading strongly around the world, causing a large number of deaths and seriously affecting people’s lives in many ways.

Therefore, WHO calls on countries to raise their vigilance to be ready to respond to the risk of a new epidemic wave when new variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to appear.

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