People wearing protective face masks visit the Parthenon in Greece amid the coronavirus pandemic. Reuters
People wearing protective face masks visit the Parthenon in Greece amid the coronavirus pandemic. Reuters
People wearing protective face masks visit the Parthenon in Greece amid the coronavirus pandemic. Reuters
People wearing protective face masks visit the Parthenon in Greece amid the coronavirus pandemic. Reuters

Europe reports record Covid case numbers amid Omicron surge


Neil Murphy
  • English
  • Arabic

Europe is reporting near vertical rises in Covid-19 cases as the Omicron variant continues to spread across the continent.

Cyprus on Tuesday announced it had recorded the world's highest Covid-19 infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants over the past seven days.

At 2,505 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, it was followed by Denmark (2,117), Ireland (1,946), Greece (1,762) and France (1,680).

On Tuesday, the UK reported a total of 218,000 daily cases, with an infection rate of 1,596 per 100,000 people.

France reported a record-breaking 271,686 daily virus cases on Tuesday as Omicron races across the country, burdening hospital staff and threatening to disrupt transport, schools and other services.

The French government is straining to avoid a new economically damaging lockdown and is instead trying to rush a vaccine pass bill through Parliament in hopes that it is enough to protect hospitals.

But with Europe’s highest total of confirmed daily virus cases, after weeks of record-breaking figures, France is in an increasingly challenging position.

More than 20,000 people are in hospital with the virus in France, a number that has been rising steadily for weeks but not as sharply as the infection rates.

Covid-19 patients fill more than 72 per cent of France’s intensive care beds and a once-renowned healthcare system is again showing signs of strain.

Most virus patients in ICUs are not vaccinated, though 77 per cent of the population has had at least two doses.

More than 123,000 people with the virus have died in the country, among the world’s higher death tolls.

A growing number of people in France cannot work because they are sick or have been in close contact cases, disrupting some hospitals and forcing the cancellation of some regional trains, among other services.

The French government has imposed some restrictions on crowds and reimposed mask requirements outdoors in some places, in addition to indoor mask requirements.

The surge is also forcing candidates for April presidential election to scale back campaign events.

  • A health centre employee performs a coronavirus test in the Kurfuerstendamm shopping street in Berlin, Germany. AP Photo
    A health centre employee performs a coronavirus test in the Kurfuerstendamm shopping street in Berlin, Germany. AP Photo
  • People present their vaccination status as they queue in front of the famous department store 'KaDeWe' in Berlin. AP Photo
    People present their vaccination status as they queue in front of the famous department store 'KaDeWe' in Berlin. AP Photo
  • A coffin which contains a person who died with the coronavirus, and is labelled "Covid-19", in a crematorium's cold room in Meissen, Germany. AP Photo
    A coffin which contains a person who died with the coronavirus, and is labelled "Covid-19", in a crematorium's cold room in Meissen, Germany. AP Photo
  • A quiet retail precinct during the introduction of lockdown measures in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Bloomberg
    A quiet retail precinct during the introduction of lockdown measures in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Bloomberg
  • A vast Covid-19 vaccination centre set up inside the France's national Velodrome near Paris. EPA
    A vast Covid-19 vaccination centre set up inside the France's national Velodrome near Paris. EPA
  • A medical technician administers nasal swabs at a mobile testing site in Paris. AP Photo
    A medical technician administers nasal swabs at a mobile testing site in Paris. AP Photo
  • Children are vaccinated at a centre in Selestat, eastern France. AP Photo
    Children are vaccinated at a centre in Selestat, eastern France. AP Photo
  • People queue up outside a pharmacy to have swab tests in Turin, Italy. EPA
    People queue up outside a pharmacy to have swab tests in Turin, Italy. EPA
  • A crowd wearing face masks in downtown Madrid, Spain. AP Photo
    A crowd wearing face masks in downtown Madrid, Spain. AP Photo
  • Nurses take care of a Covid-19 patient at the Basurto Hospital in Bilbao, Spain. EPA
    Nurses take care of a Covid-19 patient at the Basurto Hospital in Bilbao, Spain. EPA

Europe has once again become the pandemic's epicentre and is battling an upsurge of cases spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the virus.

The European region, including 52 countries and territories from the Atlantic coast to Azerbaijan and Russia, has recorded 100,074,753 infections of Covid-19 over the past two years, an AFP tally of official figures showed — more than a third of all infections worldwide.

The calculations are based on official figures, but some infections could have gone undetected, for example if patients were asymptomatic.

Of the European infections, more than 4.9 million have been reported over the past seven days alone, with 17 out of 52 countries or territories beating their previous records of most cases in a single week.

Covid-related deaths are, however, decreasing in Europe.

Europe recorded on average 3,413 coronavirus deaths a day over the past week, a 7 per cent drop from the previous week. At its worst, in January last year, that average was 5,735 deaths a day.

This could be due to the fact that Europeans are now, on the whole, more vaccinated than the worldwide average.

Sixty-five per cent of Europeans are partially vaccinated, while 61 per cent are fully vaccinated, the Our World in Data website showed.

Though taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the World Health Organisation estimates the overall death toll worldwide could be two to three times higher than official figures show.

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

Continental champions

Best Asian Player: Massaki Todokoro (Japan)

Best European Player: Adam Wardzinski (Poland)

Best North & Central American Player: DJ Jackson (United States)

Best African Player: Walter Dos Santos (Angola)

Best Oceanian Player: Lee Ting (Australia)

Best South American Player: Gabriel De Sousa (Brazil)

Best Asian Federation: Saudi Jiu-Jitsu Federation

The biog:

From: Wimbledon, London, UK

Education: Medical doctor

Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures 

Favourite animals: All of them 

Draw:

Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi

Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania

Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia

Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola

Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau

RACECARD
%3Cp%3E5pm%3A%20Al%20Shamkha%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E5.30pm%3A%20Khalifa%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E6pm%3A%20Masdar%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E6.30pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E7pm%3A%20Emirates%20Championship%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20Dh1%2C000%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%3A%20Shakbout%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%202%2C400m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder

Transmission: CVT auto

Power: 181bhp

Torque: 244Nm

Price: Dh122,900 

THE SPECS

      

 

Engine: 1.5-litre

 

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

 

Power: 110 horsepower 

 

Torque: 147Nm 

 

Price: From Dh59,700 

 

On sale: now  

 
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EElmawkaa%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ebrahem%20Anwar%2C%20Mahmoud%20Habib%20and%20Mohamed%20Thabet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24400%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E500%20Startups%2C%20Flat6Labs%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20Lorenz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Liam%20Neeson%2C%20Kerry%20Condon%2C%20Jack%20Gleeson%2C%20Ciaran%20Hinds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

Updated: January 05, 2022, 12:07 AM