COVID-19 Outbreak: Aida Cruise Ship Carrying 4,000 People Held in Lisbon After Crew Members Get Infected

LISBON: Portugal - reported on Saturday that a cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people was detained in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, after the outbreak of COVID-19 infected crew.

The German company Aida Cruises told dpa that it found coronavirus-positive cases in regular health examinations and worked with Portuguese authorities in Lisbon to deal with people infected on land. Read again | Tesla Hiking Prices for Model 3 and Model Y rear-wheel drive variants of Elon Musk in China.

Portuguese media reported that 52 members of the crew of more than 1,000 workers tested positive. None of the nearly 3,000 passengers tested positive. Everyone on board passed the screening test and was vaccinated twice before the ship departed Germany. 

The ship is waiting for new crew to arrive to continue its journey to Spain’s Canary Islands, dpa said.

Here’s what else is happening today:

Boston — Dozens of U.S. colleges are moving classes online again, at least for the first week of the semester, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases shortly before students return from winter vacation. .. The infection does not go away immediately.
 
Harvard University will move classes online for the first three weeks of the New Year and return to campus in late January. “If conditions permit”. The University of Chicago has postponed the start of a new semester and is holding the first two weeks online. Some others, such as Michigan State University, have invited students to campus, but have started classes online.
 
Many universities want to exceed the peak of the national surge caused by the highly contagious variant of Omicron for an extra week or two. Still, the surge has cast uncertainty over the semester that many have expected to be closest to normal since the beginning of the pandemic.

For some US students, starting the term remotely is becoming more commonplace — many universities used this strategy last year. However, some are afraid that the latest shifts can extend well beyond a week or two.

Jake Maynard, a student at George Washington University in the capital, said a week of online classes was okay, but more than that, he hoped authorities would trust booster shots and provide a traditional college experience. I’m out.
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Tokyo — The Emperor of Japan cancels a public palace rally to curb coronavirus infections, prays to those who died during a pandemic, and videos for the second consecutive year for Saturday’s New Year greetings. I took it.

Naruhito now sits in front of a bonsai with his wife Masako, praising and appreciating doctors and other health care workers, and concerns about countries lacking access to vaccines and proper hospital systems. Was announced.

“I sincerely hope that we can overcome these difficulties by valuing the connections between people more than ever, sharing and supporting each other.”

More than 18,000 COVID-19-related deaths have been recorded in Japan, but the pace of death has slowed in recent months. Reigning Emperor Naruhito also expressed concern about the rapidly prevailing variant of Omicron.
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Las Vegas — With the proliferation of COVID-19 cases and the withdrawal of some of the well-known tech presenters, the annual CES gadget convention will be three days instead of four.

The Consumer Electronics Association, the organizer of the convention, announced on Friday that the CES will run from January 5th to 7th, one day shorter than planned. According to spokeswoman Jeanne Avella, the event still confirms that more than 2,200 exhibitors will showcase their products at the Las Vegas convention.

The announcement follows the withdrawal of tech giants from CES last week because of the health risks of the Omicron variant, including mobile companies like T-Mobile, where the CEO was scheduled to give a keynote speech.

Social media companies such as computer maker Lenovo, Twitter, and Facebook’s parent company Meta have also canceled their plans to participate. Media outlets, including CNN, said they would cancel or reduce coverage.

CES was virtually held last year. This year will be an online and face-to-face hybrid, with organizers offering digital registration to access about 40 livestreaming events, Abella said.

Tampa, Florida — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported more than 75,900 new cases of COVID-19 in Florida.

This tally raises the daily 7-day average to 42,600. This is twice as high as the peak of this summer’s surge, with Delta variants spurring a surge in infections in the state.

Friday’s report shows a daily record of new cases in Florida. It broke the record one day before more than 58,000 cases were reported in the state. Omicron variants of coronavirus have surged in Florida and across the country over the past few weeks.

The surge during the holiday season has sent tens of thousands of people to COVID-19 test centers throughout Florida, forming long lines in many areas.

Three people collapsed while waiting in line at the Tampa test site on Friday morning.
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Carson City, Nevada — Hundreds of unvaccinated employees working at public universities in Nevada were fired on Friday.

On Thursday, the Nevada Higher Education Board deadlocked 6-6 with measures to abolish staff vaccination obligations and then refused to delay the effective end date by two weeks. Without majority support for the abolition, the mission supported by Governor Steve Sisolak and the Nevada Undergraduate Alliance would continue to be valid.

Higher education officials said 379 employees were dismissed on Friday, 188 belonging employees terminated their contracts, and an additional 18 voluntarily resigned. Regent said employees who were dismissed could seek reinstatement if they showed evidence of vaccination in January.
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Paris — Described himself as “resolutely optimistic,” French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his hope that vaccination would end the coronavirus pandemic in 2022 during his current term. I used last year’s New Year’s speech.

Macron couldn’t say he would run for reelection in April. He just said he would continue to serve the French “whatever my location or situation”.

The president said, “The whole of France relies on you,” and urged five million unvaccinated but qualified people in France to get the coronavirus jab.

France has lost 123,000 people with COVID-19, new cases are at unprecedented levels, and a surge in highly contagious variants of Omicron. France reported a record 232,200 new cases on Friday, surpassing 200,000 on the third day.
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Rome — Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella uses his speech on New Year’s Eve to “waste” the opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making his choice otherwise. Called “crime” for all. I was able to get an injection.

In a speech aired to the country on Friday night, Head of State Mattarella announced that he would serve on the last day of his seven-year term and that Congress would elect a successor in the first few weeks of 2022. did. COVID-19 surged in Italy and many other countries caused by viral variants, and Mattarella pointed out a “feeling of frustration” for setbacks.
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Albany, NY — As federal ambulance teams and additional state soldier members head to New York City for coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to grow, hospitals in western New York are receiving more federal support.

State officials announced new developments on Friday.

Governor Kathy Hokul also said that students at State and City University of New York need to take a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine on campus in the spring semester and must be negative before returning from vacation. ..

The number of newly confirmed cases exceeded 76,500 on Thursday, breaking records by state day, Hochul said in a news briefing.

An average of 53,000 New Yorkers per day were positive in the week ending Thursday, compared to 13,000 per day two weeks ago. More than 7,900 people with COVID-19 are hospitalized throughout the state, an increase of 67% in a week.
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Austin, Texas — Texas officials stepped up testing and treatment of COVID-19 on Friday following a lack of antibody treatments that proved to be most effective against Omicron variants. Requested federal support to do so.

In a statement, Governor Greg Abbott said the request was made by the Texas Emergency Management Agency and the Texas Health Department.

They are due to additional COVID-19 testing sites in six counties, an increase in health care workers, and sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment that has proven to be most effective against the more contagious Omicron. Seeking federal resources.

Abbott called on the Biden administration to “strengthen this battle and provide the resources needed to protect the Texas people.”

Gaithersburg, Maryland — Novavax Inc. submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, stating that it will support the long-awaited clearance of the COVID-19 vaccine, a shot that is different from the current US options. ..

Novavax said the data package is the last requirement before the company officially submits an emergency use application to become the fourth US COVID-19 vaccine next month. The announcement will be made shortly after the European Commission and the World Health Organization have approved the use of double dose shots for a Maryland-based company.

Novavax has developed a shot-like protein vaccine that has been used for years against other illnesses and a strategy that may appeal to those who hesitate to use the COVID-19 vaccine made with new technology. did. However, a small biotechnology company, Novavax, faced a few months delay in finding a manufacturer to mass-produce vaccines.
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Rome-Italy health officials warn that the occupancy of beds in both intensive care units and regular wards by COVID-19 patients exceeds “critical levels” nationwide.

Gianni Rezza, chief executive officer of the Ministry of Health, also said Friday night that the incidence of cases was increasing, with 783 per 100,000 Italian residents confirmed COVID-19 infection. The country recorded another high in the number of new cases daily — 144,243 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours.

According to the ministry, nearly 12% of the approximately 1,234 million swab tests performed since Thursday were positive, encouraging vaccinated individuals to receive additional vaccinations if eligible.

The government has banned New Year’s Eve celebrations, as the country has been accused of a surge in infections, primarily caused by Omicron variants.
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Dallas — On the last day of 2021, flight cancellations surged again. The airline has blamed the shortage of crew associated with the proliferation of COVID-19 infections.

By late Friday morning, the airline had scrubbed more than 1,300 flights, according to tracking service FlightAware. This is compared to about 1,400 cancellations across Thursday.

According to Johns Hopkins University statistics, the new daily infection rate in the United States far exceeds 200,000 per day due to the delta variant debris and the rise of new Omicron variants. (AP)