As the Omicron variant spreads ever more gloom around the globe ahead of New Year’s Eve, governments are moving at different speeds to contain the scourge, with some reimposing restrictions immediately and others hesitating to spoil the party again.
In Britain, where the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus has sent caseloads soaring to record highs, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Monday no further restrictions will be introduced in England before the new year. New daily infections in England are hovering around 100,000, and hospital admissions were up more than 70 per cent on Christmas from a week earlier.
“When we get into the new year, of course, we will see then if we do need to take any further measures, but nothing more until then, at least,” Javid said.
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, though, nightclubs have been ordered closed and limits on gatherings imposed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, leaving the country divided in its approach to the crisis.
People wearing face masks walk along Oxford Street in London on Monday. In Britain, the Conservative government has said it could impose new COVID-19 restrictions after the holidays. (David Cliff/The Associated Press)
The Netherlands, meanwhile, has already shut down all nonessential stores, restaurants and bars and extended the school holidays in what largely amounts to a new lockdown. In Belgium, new measures went into effect Monday and over the weekend: Shopping in large groups was banned, and movie theatres and concert halls closed in the middle of the holiday season.
In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a set of restrictions set to begin next week, after New Year’s. Among them: Big events will be limited to 2,000 people indoors and 5,000 outdoors; eating and drinking will be banned in theatres, at sporting venues and on public transportation; and working from home will be mandatory at least three days a week for employees whose jobs make it possible.
Also, a bill will be voted on in France next month to create a vaccine pass that will allow only inoculated people to enter public places, including restaurants, bars and movie theatres.
The measures come after France recorded more than 100,000 COVID-19 infections in a single day for the first time during the pandemic.
In the U.S., the Biden administration has strongly emphasized the importance of vaccinations, boosters and rapid testing, while New York City’s sweeping mandate requiring nearly all businesses, big and small, to bar unvaccinated employees from the workplace took effect Monday. It was announced three weeks ago, soon after Omicron gained a foothold in the U.S.
People are tested for COVID-19 at a drive-thru site in Orlando, Fla., on Monday. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/The Associated Press)
The top U.S. infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned Monday that, with the rise of Omicron, “it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” He said authorities should seriously consider requiring that domestic airline passengers be vaccinated.
“When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” he told MSNBC.
Omicron has forced thousands of flight cancellations and delays around the globe because of staffing shortages linked to the virus, scrambling holiday travel plans.
WATCH | Thousands of flights cancelled as Omicron takes off:
More than 8,000 flights cancelled over Christmas weekend as cases surge
10 hours ago
Duration 3:10
As COVID-19 cases rise, people looking to travel during Christmas are hit by thousands of flight cancellations and delays globally. 3:10
FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, counted more than 2,700 cancellations worldwide by Monday evening in Europe — about 1,100 of them within, into or out of the U.S.
Despite the variant’s extraordinary ability to infect people, early indications are that it might cause milder illness than previous versions. That uncertainty is keeping governments guessing and resulting in widely varying strategies for beating back the surge.
In Greece, authorities announced additional restrictions — also effective after New Year’s — after recording its highest-ever one-day total of new infections, nearly 9,300.
A street vendor wearing a mask is seen in front of the Greek parliament in Athens on Monday. (Petros Giannakouris/The Associated Press)
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said that starting Jan. 3, high-protection or double masks will be mandatory at supermarkets and on public transportation; entertainment venues will close at midnight, and capacity will be cut to 10 per cent at soccer stadiums, among other measures.
Other parts of Europe have hesitated to slap more restrictions on their citizens.
In Poland, a nation of 38 million where the daily death toll now often tops 500, now-closed nightclubs will be allowed to reopen on New Year’s Eve, with the government unwilling to go against the will of the many voters opposed to restrictions and mandatory vaccinations.
And despite the highest death toll due to COVID-19 in Europe, Russia will ring in the new year with little if any restrictions. Many precautions will be lifted during the holiday period that runs for 10 days starting New Year’s Eve. Russia also will not impose any additional travel curbs.
The official Rosstat statistical agency estimated that between April 2020 and October 2021, Russia had 537,000 virus-related deaths.
In Belgium, the move to close theatres and arts centres came in for especially heavy criticism.
A person stands in front of a closed theatre in Antwerp, Belgium, on Monday. (Virginia Mayo/The Associated Press)
“We need it also for our mental health. It is the only way for people to live experiences, to tell stories. It is of paramount importance for us to be open in these complicated and complex times,” said Michael De Kok, artistic director of the Flemish Royal Theatre.
Some movie theatres stayed open in an act of civil disobedience.
As of Monday, more than 280 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.4 million.
What’s happening across Canada
WATCH | Tighter gathering restrictions take effect in Quebec, N.B.:
Tighter gathering restrictions take effect in Quebec, N.B.
10 hours ago
Duration 4:35
New rules on gatherings and capacity limits are now in place in New Brunswick and Quebec as COVID-19 cases surge across Canada. Manitoba is also facing calls to bring in stricter public health measures. 4:35
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway left Tuesday night’s contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning and departed the rink on a stretcher after being struck by a puck late in the first period.
Holloway was hit in the neck area by a puck with 2:37 remaining in the period, and proceeded to finish his shift, continuing to participate in the play before skating to the bench under his own power.
As play was stopped with 1:11 remaining for a high-sticking penalty that was later called off, teammates started calling and gesturing for assistance.
Blues trainer Ray Barile and medical staff from both teams tended to Holloway for several minutes before emergency medical technicians carted him off the bench on a stretcher.
“I was just sitting beside him and saw something was happening,” Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko said. “I told Ray. He knows what he’s doing. I was just kind of curious to what’s going on. Doctors came in and, like, I think everything is good right now. But we were worried, everybody.”
Holloway was seen raising his arm as he was carted off. The Blues later announced that Holloway was alert and stable and was rushed to a St. Louis area hospital for further observation.
“I think the only way I can put is if you’re at work, and you get a call, and one of your family members is sick, and you rush to the hospital,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said.
“Holly’s a family member. That was tough. I thought we, as a group, showed a lot of fortitude, and the way mentally being able to push through that, because the easiest thing to do is your head goes somewhere else. But, we were able to get updates on Holly and kind of put our minds at ease a little bit and refocus ourselves.”
Referees Wes McCauley and Cody Beach sent the teams to their locker rooms and started the first intermission after Holloway was transported off the bench due to the nature of the injury.
“It’s hard,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “It’s your teammate. Then we got news that he’s going to be fine. And then, you have to wrap your head around it a little bit and go play a hockey game again, right?
“So that’s just, unfortunately, the reality of the sport, and it took us awhile to get going.”
St. Louis rallied to score three goals after falling behind 1-0 early in the second period to beat Tampa Bay 3-2.
WINNIPEG – Nino Niederreiter showed his veteran savvy in his 900th NHL career game on Tuesday.
The Winnipeg Jets forward scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Utah Hockey Club that kept the team’s early-season success rolling with a fourth consecutive win (12-1-0).
On his first goal, the 32-year Niederreiter lifted a Utah opponent’s stick in Winnipeg’s end, allowing the Jets to get the puck and head toward the visitor’s net.
Niederreiter then joined the rush, deked and put the puck around netminder Karel Vejmelka for a 2-0 lead at 7:30 of the third period with his sixth goal of the season.
“Obviously, the game wasn’t very pretty,” Niederreiter said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of flow out there. I think that is something that we knew and just had to stick with and do the little things right.
“Eventually, we would create our own luck and that’s what happened there.”
And what about his deke in front of 12,932 fans at Canada Life Centre?
“I still got it somewhere in there,” Niederreiter said with a smile. “It’s a great feeling, like I said. It’s a cool night to score a goal like that.”
His second goal — the 230th of his career — was into an empty net with 2:59 remaining. He also has 225 assists for 455 career points.
Gabriel Vilardi scored the first goal at 17:57 of the second period on the power play and Adam Lowry picked up two assists.
Hellebuyck recorded his second shutout of the season and 39th of this career.
Niederreiter signed a three-year contract extension with the Jets last December. The $12-million deal kicked in this season.
He’s now scored against 33 NHL teams, including the Jets.
“It’s a cool stat, but I think it also says that I’ve been traded a few times,” he said. “But I guess it gives me the chance to do that.”
Niederreiter was drafted in 2010 by the New York Islanders (fifth overall), becoming Switzerland’s highest NHL pick.
He’s also played for the Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators before being traded to the Jets in February 2023.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel was impressed by Niederreiter’s quick-thinking stick lift.
“We’ll throw that on the old system video,” he said. “But that’s just going the distance, coming all the way back and he creates that.
“We’re never out of it. You never know how a puck’s going to bounce. He just kept coming and obviously we turned that offence the other way.”
Arniel said the team recognized Niederreiter’s milestone.
“That’s special. That’s a lot of games,” Arniel said. “We had a little tribute to him, saw all his pictures from all the jerseys he’s worn and the places he’s played.
“He hasn’t changed a bit. He’s a big power forward and that line I thought was really good. They take that (Clayton) Keller line on, those skill guys. They did a really good job.”
Niederreiter is on a line with Lowry and Mason Appleton.
“Those guys on the PK were really strong,” Arniel added. “When that line plays like that they’re a force, they’re hard to handle. They wear teams down because they spend so much time in the offensive zone.”
Utah (5-5-3) ended a run of picking up points in three consecutive games (1-0-2).
Vejmelka stopped 25 shots for Utah in its second game of a four-game road trip.
“They know what to expect of each other. They play a really, really structured game, and they were patient tonight,” Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said of the Jets.
“I think that was a good chess game. They got one on the power play and from there they waited for the opportunity to have a killer goal. They did a good job.”
NOTES: Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey picked up his 14th assist of the season when his point shot with five seconds left in a power play was tipped in by Vilardi. … Kyle Connor had his franchise-record, season-opening points streak end at 12 games. He almost picked up an assist until Vilardi tipped in Morrissey’s shot.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
Minus the NHL’s reigning goal king, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ porous power play finally stepped up. The penalty kill was at attention, too.
Matthews sat out his team’s 4-0 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury on a night where the club’s special teams — finally — were in unison.
“Maybe everybody just has a little bit more compete to their game,” said Leafs winger William Nylander, who scored on a man advantage in the second period and set up another goal in the third. “It’s hard to cover for (Matthews), but everybody did their job.”
Toronto, which entered the game with an ugly 4-for-40 on the power play this season to sit 31st overall despite a boatload of offensive talent, connected three times off seven chances and killed all six Boston opportunities.
“I don’t think we’re going to get carried away thinking we got anything solved,” said Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly, who had a goal and two assists on the man advantage. “It was a matter of time, it was about sticking with the process.”
That process included suiting up without Matthews against an opponent that had gone 8-0-0 over the teams’ last eight regular-season meetings, and beat Toronto in seven games in the first round of last spring’s playoffs.
Leafs head coach Craig Berube said following the morning skate his captain, who’s listed as day-to-day, has been “fighting through” the issue, but added it’s not related to past wrist problems.
Matthews has five goals and 11 points in 13 games this season. He picked up an assist and played more than 22 minutes in Sunday’s 2-1 overtime road loss to the Minnesota Wild.
“Everybody just needs to do their job out there,” Berube said following the morning skate of his group’s mindset without its best player. “I don’t think you focus on, ‘Oh, Auston’s not playing so what are we going to do?’ We’ve got a good team, got good players. People are going to get a little different look in situations, lines, things like that. They’re capable guys, good players.
“You’ve just got to go play.”
Leafs forward Max Domi centred the top line between Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies with the three-time Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy winner — including the 69 he scored in 2023-24 — looking on.
Marner and Knies each finished with a goal and an assist on the power play Tuesday as Toronto improved to a surprising 36-19-2 all-time in the regular season when Matthews is absent.
“These guys have had us for a little bit now,” Knies said post-game of the Bruins. “We were all a little bit frustrated here, and we wanted to play physical and get on them. It sucks losing your best player, but everyone stepped up. It showed that we have a lot of depth in this room.
“Great team effort.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
