Health News Roundup: France cuts isolation for COVID-positive to 7 days from 10 days; Omicron dampens global New Year celebrations, fewer watch ball drop in Times Square and more

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the United Kingdom has sent infections to record highs, with close to 190,000 new cases reported on Friday. China ends 2021 with worst COVID week since taming original epidemic China ended its final week of 2021 with its biggest tally of local coronavirus cases for any seven-day period since subduing the country's first epidemic nearly two years ago, despite an arsenal of some of the world's toughest COVID-19 measures.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

France cuts isolation for COVID-positive to 7 days from 10 days

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday the isolation period for fully vaccinated people who test positive for COVID-19 would be cut to seven days from 10 days. French authorities followed other countries such as the United States, which this week cut the isolation period to prevent disruptions in industries for lack of staff.

Omicron dampens global New Year celebrations, fewer watch ball drop in Times Square

The Omicron coronavirus variant dampened New Year festivities around much of the world, with Paris canceling its fireworks show, London relegating its to television, and New York City scaling down its famous ball drop celebration in Times Square. The illuminated ball made of Waterford crystal panels slid down its pole at the midnight hour in Times Square, but only 15,000 spectators were allowed into the official viewing area instead of the usual 58,000.

France sixth country with more than 10 million COVID infections

France became the sixth country in the world to report more than 10 million COVID-19 infections since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to official data published on Saturday. French health authorities reported 219,126 new confirmed cases in a 24-hour period, the fourth day in a row that the country has recorded more than 200,000 cases.

China reports 191 new COVID-19 cases for Jan 1 vs 231 day earlier

China reported 191 confirmed coronavirus cases for Jan 1, down from 231 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Sunday. Of the new infections, 131 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, down from 175 a day earlier.

New COVID restrictions would be a last resort, says UK health minister

New restrictions in England to slow the spread of COVID-19 will only be introduced as a last resort, health minister Sajid Javid said, stressing that although hospitalizations were rising, the number of patients in intensive care was stable. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the United Kingdom has sent infections to record highs, with close to 190,000 new cases reported on Friday.

China ends 2021 with worst COVID week since taming original epidemic

China ended its final week of 2021 with its biggest tally of local coronavirus cases for any seven-day period since subduing the country's first epidemic nearly two years ago, despite an arsenal of some of the world's toughest COVID-19 measures. The National Health Commission reported on Saturday 175 new community infections with confirmed clinical symptoms for Dec. 31, bringing the total number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China in the past week to 1,151.

FACTBOX-Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 286.63 million, death toll at 5,782,999

More than 286.63 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 5,782,999​ have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Record en Angleterre avec 162.572 nouveaux cas de COVID-19

Les autorités ont signalé samedi 162.572 nouveaux cas de COVID-19 en Angleterre, un record, alors que l'épidémie a fait 154 morts de plus. En raison du Nouvel An, les données quotidiennes n'incluent pas l'Écosse, le Pays de Galles ni l'Irlande du Nord.

New Australian COVID-19 cases dip, but hospitalisations rise

New Australian COVID-19 cases dipped on Sunday as testing slowed over a holiday weekend, but remained well over 30,000 and hospitalisations rose further in New South Wales as concerns grow about potential strains on the national health system. Newly diagnosed cases in New South Wales, the most populous state, dropped to 18,278 from 22,577 the day before as the number of tests conducted on New Year's Day dropped by a quarter, health department figures showed.

Bahrain authorizes use of Pfizer's anti-COVID drug -state news agency

Bahrain's health authorities authorized Pfizer's Paxlovid COVID-19 drug for emergency use in adults aged over 18, the state news agency said in a statement on Saturday. The decision by the National Authority for Regulating Health Professions and Services was based on the review and evaluation of data provided by Pfizer, the statement added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)