South Africa’s noticeable drop in new COVID-19 cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic Omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say.
Daily virus case counts are notoriously unreliable, as they can be affected by uneven testing, reporting delays and other fluctuations. But they are offering one tantalizing hint — far from conclusive yet — that Omicron infections may recede quickly after a ferocious spike.
Scientists at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, work on the Omicron variant of the coronavirus last week. Some data suggests the Omicron surge in the country may have already peaked. (Jerome Delay/The Associated Press)
South Africa has been at the forefront of the Omicron wave and the world is watching for any signs of how it may play out there to try to understand what may be in store.
After hitting a high of nearly 27,000 new cases nationwide on Thursday, the numbers dropped to about 15,424 on Tuesday. In Gauteng province — South Africa’s most populous with 16 million people, including the largest city, Johannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria — the decrease started earlier and has continued.
“The drop in new cases nationally combined with the sustained drop in new cases seen here in Gauteng province, which for weeks has been the centre of this wave, indicates that we are past the peak,” Marta Nunes, senior researcher at the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics department of the University of Witwatersrand, told The Associated Press.
WATCH | U.K. epidemiologist attributes any blunting of Omicron to vaccine coverage:
Omicron does not appear to be less severe than Delta, says U.K. epidemiologist
24 hours ago
Duration 2:22
While some health officials have said Omicron seems milder than previous variants of the coronavirus, British epidemiologist, Dr. John Edmunds says there is no evidence of that, but vaccinations appear to blunt its effect.(Evan Mitsui/CBC) 2:22
“It was a short wave … and the good news is that it was not very severe in terms of hospitalizations and deaths,” she said. It is “not unexpected in epidemiology that a very steep increase, like what we saw in November, is followed by a steep decrease.”
Worldwide, the variant has been detected in at least 89 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
-From The Associated Press, last updated at 5:30 a.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
For more details on how COVID-19 is impacting your community — including hospital data and the latest on restrictions — check out the coverage from CBC newsrooms around the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to deliver an update on COVID-19 today as the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant is prompting more provinces to reinstate and tighten public health restrictions.
Trudeau is expected to speak at noon ET alongside Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo and several ministers.
The update comes amid a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases, with Omicron now the dominant coronavirus variant in several provinces.
WATCH | Canadians cancelling holiday plans as COVID-19 tests become hard to find:
Challenges with COVID-19 testing access affects accuracy of case counts
15 hours ago
Duration 3:34
Some Canadians are struggling to book PCR tests or find rapid antigen tests and experts say the testing challenges could be affecting the accuracy of daily COVID-19 case counts. 3:34
In Prince Edward Island, as of 8 a.m. AT,all people arriving on P.E.I. will have to self-isolate for a minimum of four days. Fully vaccinated people with a P.E.I. Vax Pass will have to isolate for four days, while unvaccinated individuals will have to complete eight days of self-isolation.
Nova Scotia is reducing gathering limits as of today, after reporting a single-day high of new cases Tuesday, with 522.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the province announced it would move to Alert Level 3 at midnight. At that level people are asked to stay home “as much as possible.”
In Quebec, Premier François Legault will be holding a news conference at 6 p.m., as Quebec continues to break daily case records, with 6,361 announced Wednesday.
WATCH | Montreal declares state of emergency as Quebec breaks COVID-19 record:
Montreal declares state of emergency as Quebec breaks COVID-19 record
14 hours ago
Duration 2:29
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante declared a state of emergency the same day that Quebec broke yet another daily COVID-19 record. In Ontario, officials are favouring boosters over restrictions, ramping up appointments in an attempt to slow the spread of Omicron. 2:29
In Ontario, the province reported 4,383 cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths on Wednesday, while the Ministry of Finance said that new supports are coming for businesses whose bottom lines will be hit by recent public health restrictions. The primary measure is a program that offers affected businesses rebate payments equivalent to 50 per cent of the property tax and energy costs incurred while capacity limits remain in place.
In the North, people flying into the Northwest Territories over the holidays will be able to get rapid COVID-19 testing kits from the Yellowknife and Inuvik airports. Meanwhile, Yukon added two new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, though the total number of active cases in the territory fell from 60 to 49.
WATCH | COVID-19: Which booster should you choose?
COVID-19: Which booster should you choose?
15 hours ago
Duration 7:14
Infectious diseases specialists Dr. Lynora Saxinger and Dr. Zain Chagla answer questions about COVID-19, including which company’s vaccine booster people should take. 7:14
Manitoba‘s new restrictions came into effect on Tuesday, as the province reported 302 new COVID-19 cases.
In Saskatchewan, modelling released by the province Tuesday suggested that Omicron-driven cases and hospitalizations will increase dramatically without stronger interventions. No new restrictions were announced.
In Alberta, the province is reducing allowable gathering numbers as of Christmas Eve. Restaurants, pubs and bars will have a maximum table capacity of 10 people, while events that seat more than 1,000 people will be at 50 per cent capacity.
In British Columbia, health officials on Tuesday reported a record 1,308 new cases of COVID-19. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry warned the public during a live news conference that it’s now “inevitable that most of us in the province will be exposed at some point.”
WATCH | Most B.C. residents will be exposed at some point to COVID-19, says Dr. Henry:
Most B.C. residents will be exposed at some point to COVID-19, says Dr. Henry
17 hours ago
Duration 0:53
B.C.’s provincial health officer gave the dire warning as new restrictions take effect to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. 0:53
-From The Canadian Press and CBC News, last updated at 12:02 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of early Wednesday morning, more than 276.3 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s case-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.3 million.
In Africa, authorities in Nigeria have destroyed about one million expired doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine even as the West African country’s vaccination rate has almost doubled in the last week amid a spike in infections.
The expired doses — numbering 1,066,214 — were destroyed on Wednesday in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, a week after the nation said it will no longer accept donated COVID-19 vaccines with short shelf lives.
In the Americas, U.S. President Joe Biden announced more federal vaccination and testing sites. He also accused unspecified cable television personalities and social media companies of making money by “peddling lies” about vaccines.
WATCH | Biden promises 500 million free COVID-19 rapid tests:
Biden promises 500 million free COVID-19 rapid tests
15 hours ago
Duration 2:01
President Joe Biden has promised to provide 500 million free COVID-19 rapid tests to Americans who want one, in a push to counteract a rising wave of Omicron cases. 2:01
In the Asia-Pacific region, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out a Christmas lockdown, saying hospitals were coping well with a record surge in cases fuelled by Omicron.
Japan has found its first suspected instance of community spread infection from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the governor of Osaka prefecture said.
And in China, one local case has forced the city Dongxing to order its residents to stay at home, halt public transport and some school classes, and postpone the clearing of travellers and cargo to pass through its port of entry.
-From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 12:02 p.m. ET
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump is refusing to say how he voted on Florida’s abortion measure — and getting testy about it.
The former president was asked twice after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday about a question that the state’s voters are considering. If approved, it would prevent state lawmakers from passing any law that penalizes, prohibits, delays or restricts abortion until fetal viability — which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks.
If it’s rejected, the state’s restrictive six-week abortion law would stand.
The first time he was asked, Trump avoided answering. He said instead of the issue that he did “a great job bringing it back to the states.” That was a reference to the former president having appointed three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
Pressed a second time, Trump snapped at a reporter, saying “you should stop talking about it.”
Trump had previously indicated that he would back the measure — but then changed his mind and said he would vote against it.
In August, Trump said he thought Florida’s ban was a mistake, saying on Fox News Channel, “I think six weeks, you need more time.” But then he said, “at the same time, the Democrats are radical” while repeating false claims he has frequently made about late-term abortions.
In addition to Florida, voters in eight other states are deciding whether their state constitutions should guarantee a right to abortion, weighing ballot measures that are expected to spur turnout for a range of crucial races.
Passing certain amendments in Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota likely would lead to undoing bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access to more than 7 million women of childbearing age who live in those states.
NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.
In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”
At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.
“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.
She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.
“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”
Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May pay tribute to the life of Murray Sinclair, former judge, senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Sinclair died November 4, 2024 at the age of 73. (Nov. 4, 2024)
