Australia confirmed its first death from the Omicron type of the coronavirus on Monday, Reuters reported.
The elderly caught the virus while residing in an assisted living facility and died in a Sydney hospital. He was fully vaccinated yet suffered from underlying health problems.
On Monday, the states of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland reported a total of 9,107 coronavirus cases, but the remaining five states and territories had not yet released daily numbers.
Although the country was on course to set a new record for Covid cases, authorities declined to declare limitations, claiming that hospitalization rates remained low.
Flights canceled
Meanwhile, Americans' vacation plans continued to be disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. According to The New York Times, over 1,000 flights were grounded in the United States on Sunday after staff tested positive for coronavirus.
On Sunday evening, FlightAware reported that more than 1,300 flights with at least one stop in the United States had been canceled. Numerous flights were canceled by Delta, United, SkyWest, American, and JetBlue airlines.
A JetBlue representative, Derek Dombrowski, stated that the airline has "received an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron."
Despite early research indicating that Omicron is a milder version than others, scientists are concerned about many cases being reported worldwide.
Covid-19 cases are also increasing in the United States, with an average of almost 1,90,000 new infections reported daily over the last seven days, according to Johns Hopkins University estimates.
Additionally, health officials in New York recorded a fourfold rise in pediatric hospitalizations. According to AFP, around half of those brought to hospitals are under five, making them unable to receive the Covid vaccine.
According to ABC News, the US chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, coronavirus cases will continue to climb globally due to the Omicron strain. Fauci emphasized that now is not the time to "fall into complacency."
"If there are many, many, many more people with a lower level of severity," he continued, "that may effectively negate the benefit of having a lower level of severity when there are so many more people." And we're especially concerned about individuals who fall into the unvaccinated category. These are the most vulnerable individuals when confronted with a virus as successful as Omicron at infecting humans."
Europe's Restrictions
Throughout Europe, authorities enact limitations to combat the epidemic, fueled mainly by the Omicron type.
