Coronavirus: What s happening in Canada and around the world Wednesday
Britain s transport minister has ordered flights and arrivals from South Africa to be halted after a potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spread to Britain.
Social Sharing
Thomson Reuters ·
Posted: Dec 23, 2020 2:31 PM ET | Last Updated: December 24, 2020
A message urging people to practise physical distancing is seen at the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport on Wednesday.(Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)
I m absolutely terrified for Christmas : Nurses say they re bracing for record-shattering COVID-19 hospitalizations after the holidays Allana Akhtar A medical staff member Stephanie takes a short nap in nursing station in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Centre on December 14, 2020 in Houston, Texas. Nurses told Business Insider they expect COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations to spike after Christmas, much like they did after Thanksgiving. More than 47,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since Thanksgiving. Smartphone data showed 13% of Americans travelled more than 31 miles from home to celebrate the holiday. Record COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US have caused nurses to become stressed and burned out.
9:11 p.m. ET, December 22, 2020
UK scientists say new virus strain likely more transmissible and may impact children more than other variants
From CNN s Amy Cassidy in Glasgow, Zamira Rahim and Naomi Thomas
Scientists from the UK’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) say they are now “highly confident” the new variant of coronavirus is more infectious than others, with a “hint” that it could be more transmissible in children.
According to NERVTAG, the new variant which is believed to have originated in southeast England could be around 71% more transmissible than other variants.
“As of last Friday, we felt we had moderate confidence because the data was coming in, but some of the analysis had been done very quickly,” Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University Oxford and chair of NERVTAG, said during a virtual news briefing on Monday.