The number of global daily coronavirus cases worldwide is averaging one million a day for the first time since the pandemic began two years ago, according to an aggregation of official tallies given daily by health authorities in each country.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
At least a fifth of those were confirmed in France, which reported 206,243 new COVID cases in a 24-hour period on Thursday, a tally above 200,000 for the second day running.
More than 7.3 million new virus cases were detected around the world in the last seven days – an average of 1,045,000 infections every day – following a surge in cases of the highly contagious omicron variant.
The numbers are much higher than the last record which stood at 817,000 cases on average between April 23 and 29.
Meanwhile, the death toll in Eastern Europe topped 1 million on Thursday.
Three out of the five countries reporting the highest number of daily deaths in Europe are Russia, Poland, and Ukraine, official data through Thursday showed.
Israel's coronavirus infection rate increased in the past 24 hours and stands at 3.15%, the Health Ministry reported Friday morning. The reproduction rate, which relates to the number of people each confirmed carrier infects, also rose and is now 1.71.
Of the 157,642 Israelis who were screened for the virus on Thursday, 4,916 tested positive. There are 24,133 active cases in the country with 169 patients hospitalized. Of those, 93 are in critical condition.
Israel has reported 1,381,684 cases, including 8,243 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.
Thus far, 4,239,818 Israelis have been vaccinated with the third dose, 5,917,321 received two jabs and 6,558,921 got inoculated once.
Also on Friday morning, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash approved the fourth vaccination dose for the elderly staying at assisted living facilities.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Ash approved the jabs for immunocompromised Israelis and introduced a series of restrictions on public life due to the rise in morbidity, including mandatory mask-wearing in outdoor gatherings of more than 50 people.
The press conference was also attended by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, Coronavirus Commissioner Salman Zarka, and Director of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Elroi Preiss.
Horowitz said the healthcare system was "ready for high morbidity. We prepared in advance and are in a better position than most of the world. We gained valuable time thanks to quick and balanced actions, but that does not mean we can be complacent."
In order to curb Omicron, Horowitz said the Health Ministry "would do everything necessary, while maintaining people's livelihood, culture and a routine of life." He also said that a national lockdown was not "on the table."
The health minister called on Israelis to get vaccinated and follow health guidelines, "especially during the upcoming end-of-year celebrations."
Zarka added, "closing the borders curbed the infection rate and gave us valuable time to prepare the healthcare system which is also tackling the flu now."
Preiss said the global Omicron infection rate is unprecedented and mostly affects youngsters and children.
"We don't think that it particularly targets children, but because morbidity is massive and there are children who are not vaccinated yet, they make up most of the cases. In terms of severity, Omicron is less severe than the Delta strain but it is 2-4 times more contagious," she said.
In the United States, Omicron has fueled thousands of new coronavirus hospitalizations among children within weeks, raising new concerns about how the many unvaccinated Americans under the age of 18 will fare in the new surge.
The seven-day-average number of daily hospitalizations for children between Dec. 21 and Dec. 27 is up more than 58% nationwide in the past week to 334, compared to around 19% for all age groups, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. Fewer than 25% of the 74 million Americans under 18 are vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Omicron cases are expected to surge even faster across the US as schools reopen next week after the winter holiday, experts cautioned.
Doctors say it is too early to determine whether Omicron causes more severe illness in children than other variants of the coronavirus, but its extremely high transmissibility is one key factor that is driving up hospitalizations.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
Meanwhile, South Africa – where Omicron was first detected – lifted restrictions on public movement on Thursday, believing the country has passed the peak of its fourth coronavirus wave driven by the strain.
The country made the changes based on the trajectory of the pandemic, levels of vaccination in the country, and available capacity in the health sector, according to a press release issued by Mondli Gungubele, a minister in the presidency.
"All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level," a statement from the special cabinet meeting held earlier on Thursday said.
Data from the Department of Health showed a 29.7% decrease in the number of new cases detected in the week ending Dec. 25 compared to the number of cases found in the previous week, at 127,753.
"While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of hospitalization than in previous waves," the cabinet said, adding that mask-wearing in public places remained mandatory. Failure to wear a mask in South Africa when required remains a criminal offense.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
