A nurse holds a syringe of a dose of an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre, in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico on April 6, 2022. （ULISES RUIZ / AFP）
LOS ANGELES / SAO PAULO / MILAN / NICOSIA – COVID-19 cases and deaths are declining in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday, with infections last week having dropped 2.3 percent and deaths falling 15.2 percent from the prior week.
The broad trend comes even as cases have scaled up in North America with an 11.2 percent increase last week, the organization said, noting that in Canada hospitalizations rose by more than 20 percent as the proportion of Omicron BA.2 cases grew.
As borders have re-opened and tourism has ramped up, cases have also surged in some Caribbean countries and territories
As borders have re-opened and tourism has ramped up, cases have also surged in some Caribbean countries and territories, with Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Barbados and Saint Martin having recorded the largest relative increases.
"Nonetheless, on a broad scale, cases and deaths are declining in the Americas," PAHO's director Dr. Carissa Etienne said in a press briefing.
She reinforced the need of consolidating high vaccination rates in the continent, and celebrated that 14 countries have already reached the World Health Organization goal of fully immunizing 70 percent of their populations by June 30.
"The decoupling of death rates and new infections is proof that vaccines are working well to protect people from hospitalization and death due to COVID-19," Etienne said.
In this Nov 13, 2020, file photo, Physician assistant Steven Oginsky, top, and registered nurse Kim Alder work inside the Hackley Community Care COVID-19 triage room at 2700 Baker Street in Muskegon Heights, Mich. (CORY MORSE / THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS VIA AP)
COVID-19 Study
About 30 percent of people treated for COVID-19 developed Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19, most commonly known as "Long COVID-19", according to a new study of the University of California, Los Angeles.
The UCLA researchers studied 1,038 people who were enrolled in the UCLA COVID-19 Ambulatory Program between April 2020 and February 2021.
Of those, 309 developed Long COVID-19, according to the study. The most persistent symptoms were fatigue and shortness of breath in hospitalized persons, and loss of sense of smell in outpatients.
People with a history of hospitalization, diabetes, and higher body mass index were most likely to develop the condition, said the researchers.
Cyprus
The government of Cyprus has decided to gradually lift almost all COVID-19-related restrictions by mid-May, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas said here on Wednesday.
From April 22, the coronavirus SafePass system will not apply to outdoor dining spaces and entertainment venues, and the capacity limit for social gatherings in restaurants and private homes will also be removed.
Hadjipantelas listed 14 other restrictions that will be modified or fully lifted on May 15.
However, the indoor face mask mandate for shops and workplaces will remain in force, along with the obligation to present a SafePass upon entering the indoor sections of restaurants and entertainment venues.
Visiting hospitals and other care facilities will be unrestricted for vaccinated and recovered people, he said.
Unvaccinated people will be required to present a negative rapid COVID-19 test taken less than 48 hours before arrival or a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) certificate not older than 72 hours.
In this file photo taken on Oct 13, 2021,
Italian Professor Roberto Mezzanotte and a nurse nurse view the lung x-rays of a COVID-19 patient at the Casalpalocco hospital, south of Rome. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP)
Italy
Italy reported 99,848 COVID-19 related cases on Wednesday, against 27,214 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily number of deaths rose to 205 from 127.
Italy has registered 162,098 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 15.86 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with COVID-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 10,207 on Wednesday, down from 10,214 a day earlier.
There were 44 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 38 on Tuesday. The total number of intensive care patients stood at 413, decreasing from a previous 422.
Some 610,600 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 174,098, the health ministry said.
In this file photo taken on April 16, 2021 a medical staff member prepares a syringe with a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a pop up vaccine clinic at the Jewish Community Center in the Staten Island borough of New York City. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Moderna
Moderna plans to submit an application to the US health regulator for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine among kids between the ages of six months to five years by end of the month, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Omicron variant was predominant during Moderna's pediatric trial, and the drugmaker said two doses were around 38 percent effective in preventing infections in 2 to 5-year-olds and 44 percent effective for children aged 6 months to under 2 years.
Norway
Norway will offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to those aged 80 and over, the country's Institute of Public Health said on Wednesday.
