Covidation of society as a form of paranoia - big press review

1) After China lockdown millions in Xi'an city in northwest Shaanxi
province (https://bit.ly/3EsZd1S), reports claim there has been
"multiple community transmission chains" including hemorrhagic
fever cases. China's state-run Global Times quoting public health
officials reported that it is a "grim and complicated epidemic
situation". The Chinese daily said the hemorrhagic fever "shared
similarity in early stage symptoms with COVID-19". The report
said there were also cases imported from abroad coming in from
international flights.
The daily said 26 people and four local party officials were
punished after the city reported a case imported from Pakistan.
The report said ten people were punished by the party for failing
to follow COVID-19 protocol which reportedly led to the infection
of staff working in a quarantine hotel for overseas travellers. Four
people were given "administrative punishment" for not being able
to control close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, the
newspaper reported.
Chinese authorities have put 13 million people in Xi'an on lockdown
while applying strict COVID-19 rules. All domestic flights have been
cancelled with just three international flights allowed. Train
travel to destinations across China has also been suspended. China
has also confirmed cases of Omicron variant worrying officials with
the country set to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
People in the city have also been asked to work from home. The city
reported 127 COVID-19 cases which were the highest number of
cases in a single day as authorities moved to impose restrictions.
Reports said the city reported 234 confirmed coronavirus cases in
two weeks.
The surge in COVID-19 cases in Xi'an has "spilled over" to four
other cities, the Chinese newspaper said noting that Xianyang,
Dongguan, Yan'an including capital Beijing recorded new COVID-19
cases.
The newspaper informed that Xi'an is the third Chinese city with
a population of over 10 million to experience a lockdown after
Wuhan last year and Shijiazhuang in north China's Hebei province
earlier this year.
The authorities said there could be further COVID-19 cases in  Xi'an
in the coming days as China continues to grapple with the pandemic.
2) Singapore will start COVID-19 vaccinations
(https://bit.ly/3qyi0Ui) for children aged 5 to 11 years before the
end of this year, its health ministry said late on Friday. The
Southeast Asian city-state has already vaccinated 87% of its 5,5
million population, and authorities were rushing to get children
vaccinated amid concerns over rising number of paediatric COVID-19
cases. The dosage used for children will be one-third of that used
in adults, similar to the United States. Currently, only
Pfizer-BioNTech "Comirnaty" PFE.N, 22UAy.DE vaccine has been
approved for children's usage in Singapore, the health ministry
added. Singapore has also signed a new supply agreement with
Pfizer-BioNTech for the COVID-19 vaccine, it said, without
specifying how many vials will be supplied.
3) In 2021, it became clear how big the rift is between certain
groups in society and the majority. Germany is no longer united.
Instead, “parallel societies” began to appear on the Internet,
primarily on Facebook and Telegram, in which truth is no longer
based on facts, but primarily describes feelings. Radical opponents
of vaccination, right-wing populists, conspiracy theorists or
esotericists - everyone can find the theses they want on the
Internet. Many of these groups, which in fact appear to be
incompatible, have banded together due to discontent with the
government's policy on the fight against coronavirus. Mass
demonstrations have become more frequent, sometimes turning
into riots. At the end of 2021, the mood in the country is tense.
Paranoia is fueled by the Suddeutsche Zeitung
(https://bit.ly/3z4CM1O).
4) As the coronavirus consultant Dr. Scott Miskovich said in an
interview with CNN (https://bit.ly/3qvxQPF), Americans should
not rely on preliminary data on the mild course of the disease when
infected with omicron. The expert urges to take the strain seriously
and insists that under the current conditions, a complete
vaccination should consist of three vaccinations, not two.
5)Burnout of staff at UK health facilities could lead to a threefold
increase in the incidence of sickness among NHS employees next
year, writes The Independent (https://bit.ly/3HfR5Ub). An analysis
by the University of London's South Bank shows that after the
current wave of COVID-19 incidence, absenteeism could be
as high as 17%.
6) The threat of terrorism in the UK could only be exacerbated
by coronavirus restrictions, as potential terrorists sitting at home
have more opportunities to radicalize, writes The Daily Telegraph
(https://bit.ly/3HhlMrZ), citing the words of the security minister
of this countries of Damian Hinds. In his opinion, in the context
of a lockdown, active contact on the Internet with certain materials
and people accelerates this trend for a number of people.
7) Between Christmas Eve and December 26, about 8,000 flights
were canceled around the world, as airlines faced a shortage of
personnel due to the spread of a new strain of coronavirus called
omicron, writes Sky News (https://bit.ly/3HfRpST). Still, according
to one White House official, while many airports are far from
performing well, the situation is still better than it was last
Christmas (https://bit.ly/3Hhm1Dp).