The hearing came as the United States surpassed its record for coronavirus hospitalizations. Tuesday’s total of 145,982 people in U.S. hospitals with covid-19, which includes 4,462 children, passed the record of 142,273 set Jan. 14, 2021, during the previous peak of the pandemic in this country.
Here’s what to know
United Airlines says 3,000 employees have tested positive for the coronavirus
Return to menuAbout 3,000 employees at United Airlines have tested positive for the coronavirus, another example of how quickly the omicron variant has spread through workplaces and upended the plans of even the most data-driven industries.
In a memo to employees Tuesday, United CEO Scott Kirby called the past few weeks a “challenging and stressful time.”
“The Omicron surge has put a strain on our operation, resulting in customer disruptions during a busy holiday season,” he wrote, also acknowledging the stress the rise in cases has put on employees and operations.
Kirby cited the impact of the virus on its Newark hub, noting that on a single recent day, nearly a third of employees called out sick. The New York region was among the first spots in the United States to see a sharp uptick in coronavirus cases, largely driven by the omicron variant.
Global cases reach new pandemic high, WHO officials say
Return to menuGlobal coronavirus infections have again hit a record, World Health Organization officials said Tuesday, with more than 15 million cases reported in the past week.
That shatters the high of 9.5 million cases set a week earlier, Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on covid-19, said in a video Q&A. This week’s infection counts were so high, the organization had to adjust the scale on the graph it has used for two years to fit the new peak.
“That shows you just how widespread the infection is right now,” said Mike Ryan, emergencies chief for the WHO. “And that’s in the context of very limited availability of tests.”
The sharp rise in cases, seen everywhere except Africa, is believed to be driven by the omicron variant. Omicron is probably in every country and is overtaking the delta variant, the WHO officials said, although delta is still responsible for a portion of hospitalizations.
The sheer volume of cases attributable to omicron results in a higher number of hospitalizations, Van Kerkhove and Ryan said, as some of those infected become seriously ill.
While noting that research suggests omicron causes less severe disease, the officials cautioned against viewing the variant as mild and urged that it be taken seriously. Those who are older, have underlying conditions or are not vaccinated are at higher risk of developing severe disease. Hospitalizations and deaths will tick up as omicron enters and circulates among those vulnerable populations.
“The narrative that it’s the common cold is not true,” Van Kerkhove said. “The narrative that it is just mild is not true. So we have to really fight against it. It’s not the time to give up.”
Key coronavirus updates from around the world
Return to menuHere’s what to know about the top coronavirus stories around the globe.
- Schools in Uganda have started reopening to students, ending the world’s longest closures during the pandemic.
- The World Health Organization said growth rates for the omicron variant have declined or stabilized in many countries but remain “significantly higher” than for delta.
- In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government secured enough coronavirus vaccines to offer all eligible Canadians a booster shot and a fourth dose.
- Israel has cut the isolation time for asymptomatic coronavirus cases from 10 days to seven, hoping to keep schools and the economy open amid a surge in cases driven by the omicron variant.
- France on Tuesday reported 368,149 new coronavirus cases, its highest single-day tally of the pandemic, as the highly contagious omicron variant sweeps the country. The previous high, 332,252 cases, was set Wednesday.
- A third city in China has locked down its residents because of a coronavirus outbreak, raising the number of people in the country confined to their homes to about 20 million.
Pfizer plans to manufacture up to 100 million doses of omicron-specific vaccine by spring
Return to menuPfizer is racing ahead with plans to manufacture 50 million to 100 million doses of a new omicron-specific version of its coronavirus vaccine, a reflection of rising concerns that current vaccine formulations may need to be adjusted for the new threat.
Pfizer also is testing hybrid combinations of vaccine to target multiple coronavirus forms, and it is testing larger doses.
The omicron-specific doses will be created “at risk,” chief executive Albert Bourla said Monday, meaning that if they are not needed, Pfizer will absorb the cost. The company has climbed to the lead in global vaccine production with 3 billion doses in 2021 and is planning to produce up to 4 billion doses in 2022.
If it turns out to be necessary to roll out an omicron-targeting vaccine, Pfizer will be ready, Bourla said.
Fauci lashes out at Sen. Rand Paul, accuses him of fundraising from personal attacks for ‘political gain’
Return to menuAt the Senate hearing Tuesday, Fauci accused Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) of incessant and false attacks on him to raise campaign funds — attacks that Fauci said have encouraged people to make threats on his life.
Fauci has drawn repeated criticism from Paul and others who question the science behind coronavirus vaccines, masks and other public health guidance and have made false claims that Fauci is part of a conspiracy that led to the creation of the novel coronavirus in a Chinese lab.
After Paul confronted him at the hearing, Fauci demanded to speak uninterrupted. He called Paul’s attacks a distortion of reality. He cited the arrest of a California man in Iowa last month who police said was traveling to Washington with an AR-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition and had a “hit list” that included Fauci and several others, mostly Democratic politicians and officials.
“What happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue?” Fauci said of Paul. “All of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there, and I have life — threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children with obscene phone calls because people are lying about me.
“Now, you know, I guess you could say: ‘Well, that’s the way it goes. I can take the hit.’ Well, it makes a difference because as some of you may know, just about three or four weeks ago, on December 21st, a person was arrested who was on their way from Sacramento to Washington, D.C., at a speed stop in Iowa. And they asked, the police asked him where he was going, and he was going to Washington, D.C., to kill Dr. Fauci.”
A police report confirms the arrest of Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, on Dec. 21 in Iowa, with an AR-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition.
Fauci said that in trying to understand why Paul is coming after him, he has gone to the senator’s website, which says "'Fire Dr. Fauci,' with a little box that says contribute here. You can do five dollars. Ten dollars. Twenty dollars, a hundred dollars.
“So you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain,” Fauci said.
Sen. Burr criticizes administration’s pandemic messaging, says people are ‘confused’
Return to menuThe ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions blasted the Biden administration’s pandemic response, saying officials are failing to clearly communicate their guidance to the American public.
“Today is going to be a rough hearing,” Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) said.
He made the remark at the beginning of the panel’s hearing on Tuesday. It’s a key moment for the Biden administration, as the omicron variant surges and hospitalizations reached record levels.
Walensky has recently come under fire for confusing messaging over the CDC’s often-changing recommendations.
Burr pointed to instances where he believed the messages were muddled. In late December, the CDC released guidance shortening the quarantine and isolation periods for those exposed to or infected with the virus. Days later, Fauci said the agency may soon add a testing component to that guidance. But when the guidance was updated, it didn’t include a testing requirement.
“I’m not questioning science. I’m glad you refrain from testing mandates, but I’m questioning your communication strategies,” Burr said. “It’s no wonder that the American people are confused.”
Burr also expressed frustration at a shortage of tests during the holidays, when some Americans waited in long lines for tests and many stores ran out.
“This administration has time and again squandered its opportunities and made things worse in the decisions you’ve made on testing and treatments and, most crucially, in communicating with the American people,” the Republican senator said.
Meta pushes back return to office, will require booster shots for eligible employees
Return to menuFacebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, is the latest corporate giant to delay employees’ return to the office amid the omicron surge. It also announced that eligible employees will be required to get booster shots.
Among the first tech companies to shutter offices in the pandemic’s early stages, Meta had originally planned to fully reopen for vaccinated employees at the end of January. But the company is now targeting a March 28 return, and employees have until March 14 to decide whether they want to return to the office, work remotely full time or work from home temporarily for the next several months through Meta’s Office Deferral Program.
“We’re focused on making sure our employees continue to have choices about where they work given the current COVID-19 landscape,” Janelle Gale, Meta’s vice president of human resources, said in a statement emailed to The Washington Post. “We understand that the continued uncertainty makes this a difficult time to make decisions about where to work, so we’re giving more time to choose what works best for them.”
Meta identifying a specific return date runs counter to the approach taken by many of its peers; Google, Microsoft and Apple have postponed their return-to-office plans indefinitely, citing the pervasive uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.
Meta also announced that it will require coronavirus booster shots for all employees returning to the office, one of the first big companies to make such a move. Others have taken an even tougher stance: Citigroup is poised to fire unvaccinated employees by the end of January unless they are granted an exemption.
Congressional physician to provide at-home test kits to House members, some staffers weekly
Return to menuCongress’s attending physician is offering at-home coronavirus testing kits to House members and essential staffers weekly because of a significant increase in cases.
The test kits, which have the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization, will be available for lawmakers and their staff this week, the attending physician, Brian P. Monahan, wrote.
Officials are acting in response to the highly transmissible omicron variant, which has spread widely over the past month. The home test kits join a list of other efforts, including booster recommendations and high-quality filtration face mask requirements, put in place for members of Congress and their staffs. Several House members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
“The home test does not replace the primary emphasis on vaccination with appropriate booster administration,” Monahan wrote. “The Office of Attending Physician continues to offer COVID vaccination and boosters in accordance with CDC guidelines. In addition, the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) PCR test center will continue to remain open. Also, masks are still required in House spaces, including on the floor.”
Separately, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday that the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference scheduled for early February would be postponed because of the surge in coronavirus cases. Jeffries, who chairs the conference, said the decision was made after consultations with Monahan.
“While Vice Chair Pete Aguilar and I are disappointed not to be proceeding with next month’s event, the health and safety of the Members, their families and staff is our top priority,” he wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
Jeffries said he hopes the retreat can happen in person in March after Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1.
U.S. sets new hospitalization record
Return to menuThe United States surpassed its record for covid-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, with no end in sight to skyrocketing case loads, falling staff levels and the struggles of a medical system trying to provide care amid an unprecedented surge of the coronavirus.
Tuesday’s total of 145,982 people in U.S. hospitals with covid-19, which includes 4,462 children, passed the record of 142,273 set on Jan. 14, 2021, during the previous peak of the pandemic in this country.
But the highly transmissible omicron variant threatens to obliterate that benchmark. If models of omicron’s spread prove accurate — even the researchers who produce them admit forecasts are difficult during a pandemic — current numbers may seem small in just a few weeks. Disease modelers are predicting total hospitalizations in the 275,000 to 300,000 range when the peak is reached, probably later this month.
WHO says omicron may infect half of Europe within two months
Return to menuThe omicron variant is expected to have infected more than half the population in the European region in the next six to eight weeks if current trends hold, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.
In the first week of 2022, Europe registered at least 7 million cases of the coronavirus, more than doubling over a two-week period, regional director Hans Kluge told an online briefing. Almost all the countries in the WHO’s European region — covering 53 countries and territories including some in Central Asia — have confirmed omicron cases.
“At this rate, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecasts that more than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with omicron in the next six to eight weeks,” he said.
Chicago schools to resume in-person classes after teachers union and city reach deal
Return to menuChicago teachers agreed Monday to resume in-person classes this week after city officials pledged to boost pandemic safety measures at schools, ending a days-long standoff between teachers and the city that resulted in canceled classes for 340,000 students.
The deal means students can return to school Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) said in a statement. Lightfoot told reporters that the city would expand testing and enhance contact tracing efforts, as well as provide criteria for closing schools with outbreaks, to address the concerns held by the Chicago Teachers Union, whose members have expressed fear about being infected in the classroom amid a nationwide coronavirus surge fueled by the omicron variant.
Last week, the union voted to return to remote learning, and the school system responded by canceling classes, making Chicago one of few U.S. cities without in-person classes after the winter break.
Another party at 10 Downing Street during U.K. lockdown revealed
Return to menuLONDON — Boris Johnson has another serious headache, after British news media reported Monday that 10 Downing Street may have hosted yet another party during a strict coronavirus lockdown.
First there were reports of a Christmas party that took place in December 2020, as hospitals filled with the sick and dying. Then the Guardian published a photograph of the prime minister and his wife in their sunny garden, alongside 17 staffers and half-empty bottles of wine, from May 15, 2020, when gatherings of more than two people were banned in outdoor public places.
Now ITV News reports that it has a copy of an email invitation for a second garden party, this one on May 20, 2020, from Johnson’s private secretary, Martin Reynolds, to more than 100 staff members at Downing Street. The location, like the White House, serves as both office and residence for the country’s leader.
“Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening,” the email reads. “Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”
CDC advises against traveling to Canada, citing coronavirus levels
Return to menuU.S. health officials on Monday advised against travel to Canada, citing “very high” levels of the coronavirus in the country.
Canada joins scores of countries that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has grouped under a Level 4 travel advisory, its most severe, including most of Europe and nations in southern Africa. The agency has also urged unvaccinated people to avoid travel to 54 additional nations, including Mexico — by far the top international destination for U.S. citizens last year, according to federal data. The CDC also issued a Level 4 warning for Curaçao on Monday.
New coronavirus cases have risen sharply in Canada in the past few weeks, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, as the omicron variant fuels a new global wave of infections.
“If you must travel to Canada, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel,” the CDC said in its travel alert for Canada, which indicates high prevalence of the virus. “Because of the current situation in Canada, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.”
Mexico’s president tests positive for coronavirus a second time
Return to menuMexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday evening that, for the second time in a year, he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
López Obrador was visibly ill at a Monday morning news conference, where he did not wear a mask as he spoke to reporters. When one reporter commented on his apparent symptoms, López Obrador, known by his initials, AMLO, responded that he “woke up hoarse.”
“I’m going to take the test later, but I think it’s the flu,” he said.
He later tweeted that he had tested positive.
“I inform you that I am infected with #COVID19 and although the symptoms are mild, I will remain in isolation and will only do office work and communicate virtually until I get better,” he wrote. Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López Hernández will fill in for him at daily news conferences and other appearances, the president added.
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