(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Argentina Enters Fourth Wave of Epidemic, South Korea Detects New Subtype of Omicron Virus Strain

  China News Service, Beijing, May 17th. Comprehensive news: According to data released by Johns Hopkins University at 9:20 on the 17th, Beijing time, there are 521,878,761 confirmed cases worldwide and 6,265,340 deaths.

  According to the official website of the World Health Organization, as of 18:04 CET on the 16th, there were 519,105,112 confirmed cases of the new crown worldwide, and 6,266,324 deaths from the new crown.

Data map: On April 18, local time, social distancing measures such as limited business hours for public gatherings in South Korea and restrictions on members of private gatherings, events and gatherings were fully lifted.

Restaurants, cafes, entertainment facilities, karaoke rooms, bathing centers, and gyms can all be open until the early hours of the morning.

The picture shows citizens dining at a restaurant in Mapo District, Seoul that night.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xu

Americas: Argentina enters the fourth wave of the epidemic

  According to data released by Johns Hopkins University at 9:20 Beijing time on the 17th, the United States has newly confirmed 1,833,730 cases in the past 28 days, the second largest in the world, with a total of 82,613,628 confirmed cases; new deaths in the past 28 days And the cumulative death cases are both the highest in the world.

  According to Argentine media reports, Argentina's Health Minister Bisotti announced on the 16th that the country has officially entered the fourth wave of the new crown epidemic, but will not issue new restrictions on activities at this time.

Bisotti stressed the need to continue to advance Covid-19 vaccinations to prevent confirmed cases from turning into hospitalizations or deaths.

The report pointed out that the arrival of a new wave of epidemics is related to factors such as the highly contagious Omicron strain and the decline in immunity acquired by people through infection or vaccination.

  The Argentine Ministry of Health reported on the 15th that 33,989 new cases were confirmed in the country in the past week, an increase of about 92.6% from the 17,646 cases in the previous week.

  According to data from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, in the week ending on the 15th, the country's newly confirmed cases fell to 609, and there were 2 new deaths. There were no deaths in the previous week.

Raúl Ginovat, dean of the School of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Havana, Cuba, said: "The incidence of the new crown is continuing to decline nationwide, immunity levels are expected to remain high, and the epidemic will continue to be controlled."

  Officials from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health recently announced that a second booster dose of the new crown vaccine will be administered nationwide to high-risk groups and people over the age of 60, and a booster shot will be given to those aged 12 to 18 who have been vaccinated for six months.

Europe: Russia's daily increase in confirmed cases remains below 5,000

  The Russian Epidemic Prevention Headquarters reported on the 16th that 4,543 new cases were diagnosed in the country in a single day, which has been below 5,000 for 2 consecutive days, with a total of 18,264,836 confirmed cases; 89 new deaths and a total of 377,759 deaths.

  According to data released by the French public health department on the 16th, as of the afternoon of that day, 5,936 new cases were diagnosed in France within 24 hours, with a total of 29,189,612 confirmed cases; 126 new deaths were added, and the total number of deaths was 147,478.

  According to data released by the Italian Ministry of Health on the 16th, 13,668 new cases were diagnosed in the country in a single day, with a total of 17,071,649 confirmed cases; 102 new deaths were added, and a total of 165,346 deaths.

Asia: South Korea detects new subtype of Omicron strain

  South Korea's Central Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters notified on the 17th that South Korea detected the first cases of new subtypes BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron strain.

In addition, South Korea reported 13 new cases of BA.2.12.1 infection of the Omicron subtype strain in the past week, bringing the total number of such cases to 19.

  According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue said on the 16th that South Korea will "spare no effort" to help North Korea respond to the new crown virus. If North Korea agrees, South Korea will provide new crown vaccines, medicines and other anti-epidemic materials.

  According to a report by Japan's "Daily News" website on the 16th, an investigation report recently released by Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan showed that there are significant differences in the sequelae caused by the Delta strain and the Omicron strain.

Delta strain-infected patients have a higher probability of developing sequelae such as smell and taste disturbances and hair loss after recovery. 44% of the surveyed delta-strain-infected patients have the above-mentioned sequelae; Omicron strain infected patients are more likely to recover after recovery. Sequelae such as cough, headache and fatigue occurred, and 60% of the surveyed people infected with the Omicron strain had the above-mentioned sequelae.

Africa: More than 10.87 million cases have been cured in Africa

  According to data released by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 16th local time, a total of 11,559,637 cases have been diagnosed in Africa, with a total of 252,641 deaths and a total of 10,876,891 cured cases.

(Finish)