People line up at a swab testing site in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Italy surged to a record 98,030 new cases of COVID-19 infections Thursday, an increase of 25% in one day. The government was meeting later to consider reducing the quarantine for vaccinated people, amid forecasts that the increasing numbers of infections could place more than 2 million people in quarantine after close contact with infected people. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Volunteer healthcare workers test people at a COVID-19 pop-up testing site sponsored by a health care group Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. Hundreds of people showed up for the free test creating long lines. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk in front of the new year's decoration in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
People line up at a rapid swab testing site in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Italy surged to a record 98,030 new cases of COVID-19 infections Thursday, an increase of 25% in one day. The government was meeting later to consider reducing the quarantine for vaccinated people, amid forecasts that the increasing numbers of infections could place more than 2 million people in quarantine after close contact with infected people. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A woman wearing a face mask passes Erotic Theatre Casa Rosso in the capital's Red Light District during a lockdown in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, as the fast-spreading coronavirus variant omicron rages through Western Europe. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Finn Washburn, 9, shows his vaccination site as his mother, Kate Elsley, takes a photo shortly after he received a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2021. The omicron-fueled surge that is sending COVID-19 cases rocketing in the U.S. is putting children in the hospital in close to record numbers, and experts lament that most of the youngsters are not vaccinated. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
Cars line up at a rapid swab testing drive-through site in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Italy surged to a record 98,030 new cases of COVID-19 infections Thursday, an increase of 25% in one day. The government was meeting later to consider reducing the quarantine for vaccinated people, amid forecasts that the increasing numbers of infections could place more than 2 million people in quarantine after close contact with infected people. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Syringes filled with doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine are seen in a vaccination center, in Nantes, western France, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. France has vaccinated 77% of its population and is rushing out booster shots. But more than 4 million adults remain unvaccinated. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)
Tramiya Fitzpatrick grabs more COVID-19 at-home rapid test kits to hand out to Broward County residents at the African American Research Library & Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Residents picking up the test kits must show proof of Broward County residency and are limited to two kits per household, while supplies last. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
People wait in line outside a vaccination center, in Nantes, western France, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. France has vaccinated 77% of its population and is rushing out booster shots. But more than 4 million adults remain unvaccinated. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzales)
A patient lays in bed in the coronavirus isolation ward of the Havelhoehe Community Hospital in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach advised Germans to spend the New Year period 'very cautiously' and celebrate only in very small groups. Restrictions that took effect over recent days included limiting private gatherings to 10 people. (Christoph Soeder/dpa via AP)
A health worker collects a swab sample of a passenger to test for COVID-19 as others wait for their turn at a train station in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. In India, which has been getting back to normal after a devastating COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, omicron is once again raising fears, with more than 700 cases reported in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people. The capital, New Delhi, banned large gatherings for Christmas and New Year's, and many other states have announced new restrictions, including curfews and vaccination requirements at stores and restaurants. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
An Indian man reacts as a health worker collects his swab sample to test for COVID-19 at a train station in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. In India, which has been getting back to normal after a devastating COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, omicron is once again raising fears, with more than 700 cases reported in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people. The capital, New Delhi, banned large gatherings for Christmas and New Year's, and many other states have announced new restrictions, including curfews and vaccination requirements at stores and restaurants. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Cars line up while laboratory assistants from Nextgen Diagnostics administer COVID-19 tests during one of the city's public testing sites events at the Electrical Workers Local One building in St. Louis, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. The testing events at the site are being held every Monday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and no appointments are required. (Daniel Shular/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
"Sushi," portrayed by Gary Marion, is lowered to the ground in a giant facsimile of a woman's red high heel on Duval Street, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, on New Years Eve., at the Bourbon Street Pub in Key West, Fla. Some Florida New Year's Eve celebrations are proceeding as planned, while others have been adjusted to fit the rapidly changing COVID-19 environment. Key West's maroon-heeled shoe will descend from a Duval Street bar. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)
An intensive care nurse cares for a Covid 19 patient in the ICU of the Havelhoehe Community Hospital in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach advised Germans to spend the New Year period 'very cautiously' and celebrate only in very small groups. Restrictions that took effect over recent days included limiting private gatherings to 10 people. (Christoph Soeder/dpa via AP)
A medical worker waits for people fill out vaccination consent forms, at makeshift vaccination center in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. As the fast-spreading coronavirus variant omicron rages through Western Europe, officials and experts in low-vaccinated Eastern Europe anticipate a post-holiday explosion of COVID-19 cases in much of the region. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A health worker takes a swab sample of a traveler to test for COVID-19 at a train station in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Dec 30, 2021.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Fans take a COVID-19 test in the parking lot of the Honda Center before an NHL hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Health care workers test people for COVID-19 at a drive-up testing center at Tropical Park, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People watch from a passing bus health workers protesting outside the government building in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. As the fast-spreading coronavirus variant omicron rages through Western Europe, officials and experts in low-vaccinated Eastern Europe view it as a forewarning for what much of the region anticipates to be an imminent, post-holiday virus surge.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda. File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, subdistrict office staff carry daily necessities to be delivered to households under closed-off management in Xi'an, in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province, Dec. 29, 2021. Chinese officials promised steady deliveries of groceries to residents of Xi'an, an ancient capital with 13 million people that is currently under the strictest lockdown of a major Chinese city since Wuhan was shut early last year at the start of the pandemic. (Liu Xiao/Xinhua via AP)
People line up for testing, as Italian army soldiers set up tents that will serve as a center for COVID-19 testing in Codogno, Lombardy, Northern Italy, the town where the first case of infection in Italy was detected in February 2020, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. The Italian government on Wednesday put fresh restrictions on the unvaccinated and reduced quarantine times for those with boosters as the number of new virus cases skyrocketed by one-quarter to a single-day total of nearly 100,000. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Italian army soldiers set up tents that will serve as a center for COVID-19 testing in Codogno, Lombardy, Northern Italy, the town where the first case of infection in Italy was detected in February 2020, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. The Italian government on Wednesday put fresh restrictions on the unvaccinated and reduced quarantine times for those with boosters as the number of new virus cases skyrocketed by one-quarter to a single-day total of nearly 100,000. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Construction workers at work building a Nightingale 'surge hub' at St George's Hospital, in south west London, Thursday Dec. 30, 2021. The NHS is setting up new Nightingale "surge hubs" at hospitals across England as it goes on a "war footing" to prepare for a potential wave of Omicron hospital admissions. Work on a total of eight hubs, each with a capacity of around 100 patients, is set to begin as early as this week, according to NHS England. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
People wearing face mask walk on the street in Saint Jean de Luz, southwestern France, Thursday, Dec.30, 2021. The French government announced this week new measures to fight the spreading of the virus as France reported a record high of 208,000 new infections on Wednesday. Mask-wearing is already mandatory inside shops, public facilities, office buildings and public transports across France. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Medical tents for vaccinations are set outside the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, on Dec. 18, 2020. The omicron-fueled surge that is sending COVID-19 cases rocketing in the U.S. is putting children in the hospital in close to record numbers, and experts lament that most of the youngsters are not vaccinated. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)JERUSALEM —Israel has approved a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to COVID-19, becoming the first country to do so as it braces for a wave of infections fueled by the omicron variant.
The director general of the Health Ministry, Nachman Ash, announced the decision at a press conference late on Thursday.
He says the decision is based on early research, and that officials will consider expanding the administration of a fourth dose to more of the public as they assess the situation.
Israel was among the first countries to roll out Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine a year ago and began freely offering boosters last summer. But it still saw a wave of infections blamed on the delta variant, and officials have warned of another driven by the fast-spreading omicron.
Earlier Thursday, Israel received its first shipment of pills that treat the worst effects of COVID-19.
Israel currently has more than 20,000 active patients, including 94 who are seriously ill. At least 8,243 people have died from COVID-19 in Israel since the start of the pandemic.
___
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:
— Hospitalization of children with COVID-19 in U.S. approaches record
— U.S. health officials press nursing home workers to get booster shots
— New COVID-19 cases in US soar to highest levels on record
— Do at-home COVID-19 tests detect the omicron variant?
— Canadian provinces adopt restrictions amid daily case records
___
Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
___
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:
MILAN — Italy surged to another record of 126,888 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. That’s a 30% increase from a day earlier when the previous record was hit.
With cases skyrocketing, Italy is reducing quarantines on vaccinated people and imposing new restrictions on those who have yet to get inoculated. Anyone with a booster dose or two doses in the last four months will no longer have to quarantine after coming in contact with someone who is positive.
Meanwhile, unvaccinated people will no longer be able to travel on buses, trains, airplanes or ferries starting on Jan. 10, the day Italians return from the Christmas holidays. They are also barred from a host of other leisure activities, including cinemas, theaters and beauty salons. These have so far been accessible with a negative test within the previous 24 hours.
Despite the surge in numbers, Italian hospitals are not under the same level of pressure as in past surges, with 78% of the entire population fully vaccinated. One-third have gotten booster shots.
___
MOSCOW — Russia’s state statistics agency says that more than 87,500 people with COVID-19 died in Russia in November, the highest monthly tally since the start of the pandemic.
Thursday’s report by Rosstat brought the overall number of virus-linked deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 to over 625,000. That is more than twice the widely-cited toll reported by Russia’s state coronavirus task force.
Rosstat uses broader criteria in its tallying system compared to the task force.
Just 51% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though the country approved a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, months before most of the world.
Russia in recent months has faced a tide of contagion with record numbers of infections and deaths. The situation has improved over the past few weeks, but the authorities are now bracing up for a new wave of infection caused by the omicron variant.
___
PARIS — Eurotunnel says French authorities are once again allowing travelers from Britain to use the tunnel that links Britain and France if they’re bound for homes elsewhere in the European Union.
Eurotunnel had announced earlier this week that the French government was no longer allowing Britons who are resident elsewhere in the EU to transit through France by road to reach their homes.
France imposed restrictions on travel to and from Britain in mid-December as part of what it said were efforts to limit the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus.
In a tweet Thursday, the Eurotunnel shuttle service announced a softening of the policy, saying that travelers from the UK are again being allowed to transit through France if they reside in other EU countries and had traveled to Britain before Dec. 28.
___
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A study of health workers in South Africa found a booster shot of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduced the risk of hospitalization during the omicron surge.
J&J said Thursday the second dose was 85% effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations in November and December. That’s according to preliminary results of a study of 69,000 health workers in South Africa.
Omicron is highly contagious and can evade some of the protection offered by vaccination or prior infection. But earlier studies of other COVID-19 vaccines have suggested vaccination still strongly protects against severe illness. Similar findings about J&J’s vaccine are important data for Africa, where the shot plays a key role in vaccinations.
J&J also announced preliminary results of some U.S. lab testing that suggested its shot could be considered as a mix-and-match booster for people who’ve received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
___
MIAMI — Some of Florida’s New Year’s Eve 2021 celebrations are proceeding as planned, while others have been adjusted to fit the rapidly changing COVID-19 environment.
There are no plans for the neon Big Orange to rise up the side of the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami this year. City officials said the annual countdown had been canceled and instead “a digitized laser Big Orange will be created with the traditional countdown clock.” Last year’s Big Orange countdown also was canceled because of coronavirus.
In the northeast town of St. Augustine Beach, a massive fireworks show was still planned, but an accompanying festival with food trucks and performers was canceled because of the recent COVID-19 surge.
Then in Key West, the well-known drag performer Sushi will drop from above a Duval Street bar in a giant maroon, high-heeled shoe. The shoe drop continues a two-decade tradition in the continental United States’ southernmost town.
Florida hit a new record for daily cases on Tuesday with 46,900 new cases in a day. Since Christmas, the state’s 7-day average of daily cases has surpassed previous records set during last summer’s surge, rising to 29,400 infections.
___
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — A tourism-dependent area in Colorado’s mountains has reinstituted a mask mandate because of a growing number of COVID-19 cases.
Starting Thursday, people will have to wear masks in public indoor spaces in Summit County, home to several popular ski resorts.
The county’s public health department says the decision was made in response to an “alarming” increase in cases during the past week.
Officials believe that’s due to the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant, likely at indoor holiday gatherings. The county has among the highest incidence rates in the United States, as does the Aspen area.
___
LISBON, Portugal — Portuguese health authorities are shortening the mandatory isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 from 10 to seven days as long as they show no symptoms.
Other countries, from the United States to neighboring Spain, have made similar moves out of concern about the impact of quarantines on the workforce.
The General Directorate of Health, or DGS, said in a statement Thursday that close contacts of positive cases will need to continue quarantining, but for a maximum of 7 days.
The Madeira region, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, has further cut the mandatory isolation period to five days, according to the Portuguese daily Diario de Noticias.
The country has seen a growing number of infections and the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus has become predominant in Portugal despite it having one of the world’s highest vaccination rates. 87% of the country’s 10 million residents have gotten at least two doses.
On Thursday, the DGS reported a record number of 28,659 new infections and 16 deaths of patients with COVID-19. Hospitalizations, especially in intensive care units of which there are fewer, are still lower than in previous infection surges.
___
ISTANBUL — Turkish health ministry statistics show nearly 40,000 new COVID-19 infections Thursday, more than double the number of cases a week ago.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted that the rise was due to the extremely contagious omicron variant. This level of infections was last seen at the end of April when Turkey’s strictest lockdown measures were announced.
So far, Turkey has not announced any new restrictions other than urging people to wear masks and practice social distancing.
A little more than 83% of Turkey’s population have received two doses of China’s Sinovac or BioNTech’s vaccine and nearly 18.7 million people have received a third dose. The total death toll from the virus in the country is 82,198, according to official statistics.
___
NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City will ring in 2022 in Times Square as planned despite record numbers of COVID-19 infections in the city and around the nation.
De Blasio said on NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he wants to show the world that the city is “fighting our way through this.”
After banning revelers from Times Square a year ago due to the pandemic, city officials announced plans previously for a scaled-back New Year’s bash with smaller crowds and vaccinations required.
The city’s next mayor, Eric Adams, will take the oath of office in Times Square shortly after the ball drop.
___
BERLIN — Germany plans to relax restrictions on travel from the U.K., South Africa and seven other southern African nations next week, though it says that “short-term changes” to the plan are possible.
The national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said Thursday that it intends to remove the nine countries on Tuesday from its list of “virus variant areas,” the top risk category.
Airlines and others currently are restricted largely to transporting German citizens and residents from those countries, and all arriving must self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.
The disease control center plans to move the countries to its list of “high-risk areas,” the lower risk category. People arriving from such areas who haven’t either recovered recently or been fully vaccinated have to self-isolate for 10 days, which can be cut to five with a negative test.
Italy, San Marino, Malta and Canada, which aren’t currently listed, are to become “high-risk areas” starting Saturday.
___
NEW DELHI — India is going ahead with a legislative election in its most populous state despite daily COVID-19 infections more than doubling nationwide within a week.
India reported 13,154 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a jump from 6,000 daily cases on Dec. 24.
Thousands of people without masks have been crowding the election rallies of top politicians across Uttar Pradesh state.
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra says all political parties in the northern state of 200 million want the election held by March.
Chandra rejected a state High Court’s suggestion to postpone the election in light of an expected surge in infections fueled by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Dr. K.K Paul, a top government official, said the World Health Organization’s warning of a COVID-19 tsunami was not India-specific and referred to the global situation.
___
PARIS — Residents and tourists in Paris will be required to wear face masks outdoors starting Friday as France sees a surge of COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.
The Paris police prefecture said the mask rule will apply to people ages 12 and over, although individuals will be exempt while riding bicycles or motorcycles, traveling in vehicles and doing exercise.
Those who do not comply face fines of 135 euros ($153).
Masks already are mandatory in shops, public facilities and office buildings and on public transportation in France.
The French government announced measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus this week, when France reported a daily record of 208,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
___
Before you consider Johnson & Johnson, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Johnson & Johnson wasn't on the list.
While Johnson & Johnson currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Click the link below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
