Omicron alarm, Germany does not rule out a new lockdown. WHO: "The storm is coming"

The alert rises in Europe and in the world for the surge in infections, driven by the Omicron variant. And while Great Britain records a record of cases - over 106,000 and never so many in a day since the pandemic began - Germany is preparing to raise its guard further: the Minister of Health speaks of the probable need for a fourth dose, announcing have already ordered 80 million Biontech doses, adapted to the new mutation. And it does not exclude the possibility of having to resort to "a hard lockdown", even if no other tightening is foreseen for now.

"There are no red lines," said Karl Lauterbach as WHO launches a new alarm: "A new storm is coming" with Omicron "dominating more countries in the region within weeks, pushing health systems already under pressure. on the edge of the abyss ".

A similar emergency situation also in France, where there is fear of a surge in infections in the coming days, up to "100 thousand a day" by the end of the year. New restrictions also in Austria, Belgium and Spain, where the mandatory use of outdoor masks has been reintroduced.

The response in China is tougher where the "zero tolerance" policy has now pushed Beijing to lockdown the city of the Terracotta Army, Xi'an, and carry out sweeping tests for all its 13 million inhabitants, after the discovery of about fifty new infections.

In Israel, meanwhile, everything is ready to start vaccinations, with the fourth dose for over 60s and health workers: the administration, announced on Tuesday evening, could start as early as Sunday, as soon as the Minister of Health gives the final green light.

Some WHO experts invite to "get vaccinated, vaccinated, vaccinated", even if the official line of the organization remains that of considering the recalls a luxury, inviting them to sell them to the countries most in difficulty. As reiterated by the general manager, Tedros Ghebreyesus: "The pandemic will not come out with boosters".

To deal with the new variant remains Great Britain, which registered 106,122 infections in 24 hours - including the husband of Princess Anne now in isolation. This is the daily record since the beginning of the pandemic (140 deaths), with an increase of almost 60% in a week, even if there is a decrease of 2.7% in deaths.

(Unioneonline / vl)