COVID-19 live updates: Cruise ship must remain at sea after 55 people test positive

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 812,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.7% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dec 23, 1:50 pm
Germany records 34% increase in omicron cases in single day

According to the Robert Koch Institute, there were 810 newly confirmed cases of omicron in Germany Thursday.

 

This is a 34% increase from the day before and brings the total number of omicron cases to 3,198.

To date, there has been one death linked to the variant in Germany, in a patient who was between ages 60 and 79, the Institute said.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Dec 23, 1:03 pm
New UK study suggests omicron may cause less severe illness but too soon to know

A new analysis from the UK Health Security Agency suggests the omicron COVID variant may cause less severe illness.

Preliminary data found a patient infected with omicron was 31% to 45% less likely to visit the emergency room compared to the delta variant and 50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to the hospital.

However, experts caution that it is still too soon to know for sure whether the variant causes mild or severe illness.

The UKHSA notes that the study is “preliminary and highly uncertain” due to the low numbers of omicron patients in the hospital.

The agency adds that because omicron appears to spread more easily, it could still lead to significant numbers of people needing hospital treatment over the next few weeks.

ABC News’ Guy Davies

Dec 23, 12:27 pm
UK reports 120,000 cases — a record high

The United Kingdom recorded 119,789 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number ever reported during the pandemic, according to official government data.

This brings the total number of infections over the past seven days to 678,165, which is an increase of 53.3% compared to last week.

It also marks the second consecutive day that cases of the virus have topped 100,000.

Deaths, comparatively, are not rising with the weekly total being 2.4% lower than the week before.

ABC News’ Guy Davies

Dec 23, 12:14 pm
US stops shipment of 2 monoclonal antibody treatments

The U.S. government announced Thursday it is pausing shipment of two monoclonal antibody treatments because they are less effective against the omicron variant.

Eli Lilly’s and Regeneron’s treatments are not being sent to states after early data revealed they were not effective at preventing severe illness or hospitalization in patients infected with omicron.

The government will continue shipping sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment made by Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline, which appears to combat the new variant.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services said it is sending 55,000 doses of sotrovimab across the country and expects to distribute an additional 300,000 doses starting in January.

Eli Lilly and Regeneron have said they are each developing updated versions of their monoclonal antibody treatments that will work against omicron.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Dec 23, 11:47 am
Nearly 30,000 Americans have died of COVID since Thanksgiving

An ABC News analysis of federal data finds that nearly 30,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since Thanksgiving as the omicron variant spreads across the country.

The U.S. is currently averaging more than 1,200 deaths per day, an increase of 23.3% in the last month with death rates up across almost all age groups.

Nationwide, about 161,000 new COVID cases are being reported every day, up nearly 75% in the last month.

This marks the highest daily case average since Labor Day, and means the U.S. will likely surpass the daily peaks seen during the delta-fueled wave over the summer.

Fourteen states, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin, are reporting their highest daily case numbers in about a year.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

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