Australia reported more than 10,000 daily Covid-19 cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic amid the rapid spread of the omicron strain.
New South Wales on Monday recorded 6,324 cases, with 55 in intensive care among 520 people in hospital. The most populous state also reported its first known death from the omicron variant — a man in his 80s with underlying health issues who had received two doses of vaccine and became infected in his nursing home.
Everyone in the state is likely to get omicron at some point, the state’s health minister Brad Hazzard said Sunday, according to a local report.
The second biggest state, Victoria, posted 1,999 daily cases. Infections also multiplied in smaller states that recently reopened domestic borders for the summer holiday tourism season: Queensland had 784 new cases on Monday, while South Australia counted 842.
There was one new case in Western Australia, the country’s last holdout of the Covid-zero approach. Its premier Mark McGowan extended restrictions introduced last week, such as masks at indoor public venues
“We are not out of woods yet,” McGowan told reporters Monday.
Most of Australia has shifted toward living with the virus, relying on vaccines and a growing arsenal of treatments. Recent studies have raised hopes that omicron symptoms may be less severe compared with the delta wave.
The number of Covid-19 cases crossed 14.7 million across Southeast Asia, with 21,557 new cases reported on Monday (December 27). New deaths are at 270, bringing accumulated Covid-19 deaths in Asean to 303,100.
Atotal of 114,183 Cambodian candidates are taking a national high school graduation exam on Monday after the situation of Covid-19 pandemic had been brought under control. The annual exam is a prerequisite for Grade 12 students to pursue their studies at university levels.
All educators and exam-takers are required to strictly follow health and safety measures, including wearing face masks, washing hands, having temperature checked, and maintaining physical distancing.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Prime Minister has urged medical teams to go door-to-door to identify those who have not been vaccinated and arrange inoculations, especially for those people with mobility difficulties. Localities should also organise care and treatment for people with Covid-19 in high-risk groups and carry out isolation and monitoring at home or at a treatment facility according to their conditions. The PM order came after Covid-19 cases nationwide have increased, along with the number of severely ill patients and deaths particularly in high-risk groups.
France will make working from home compulsory three days a week to contain the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Workers that have the option to stay away from the office must do so a minimum of three days and if possible four days to help reduce social contacts, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Monday.
He announced the measures — which are due to enter into force on Jan. 3 for three weeks — after a special cabinet meeting convened by President Emmanuel Macron amid skyrocketing coronavirus infections in the country.
“In France and in Europe, the health situation is, as you know, extremely tense,” Castex told reporters. The government refrained from ordering a curfew for New Year’s Eve.
France reported a daily record of more than 100,000 new cases on Saturday fueled by omicron’s rapid spread, mirroring significant infection rates in the U.K. and Italy. Macron, who is widely expected to seek a second term in April’s presidential election, has vowed to contain the virus while shielding the economy from another full lockdown.
More than 16,000 people are currently hospitalized for Covid in France, including some 3,300 in intensive care — above the crisis threshold of 3,000 set by health officials.
TEL AVIV – An Israeli hospital began administering fourth coronavirus vaccine doses to a test group of health-care workers on Monday, in what its calling the worlds first trial of its kind, as the country weighs approval of a wider campaign for at-risk Israelis in efforts to stem the rapid spike in infections by the omicron variant.
The trial at Sheba Medical Center in central Israel involves 150 medical workers who received third doses before Aug. 20 and have antibody counts below 700, signifying low protection, according to a statement from the hospital. The trial is being carried out in conjunction with Israel’s Health Ministry.
“It’s one jab in the shoulder, but one giant leap for mankind,” said Jacob Levee, director of the hospital’s heart transplant unit and the first recipient of the fourth vaccine at Sheba.
He said he wanted to get vaccinated to protect his heart transplant patients, whose “immunity following the third dose has diminished significantly, so they’re exposed,” according to research at Sheba.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that Israel would be the first country in the world to offer fourth Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses to citizens over the age of 60, people with compromised immune systems and health-care workers. He called on health-care facilities across the country to prepare to roll out the campaign, but the decision has not yet been approved by Health Ministry Director Nachman Ash.
The Sheba study will produce initial results within the coming days and weeks, which may help steer the next steps in the fourth-dose immunization campaign, said its head researcher, Gili Regev-Yochai.
“This research is very important because then we will have initial data about the safety,” Regev-Yochai said.
One major unknown about coronavirus vaccines is whether, and with what frequency, additional doses will continue to generate strong immune system responses, as opposed to weaker or even immune-dampening effects, if administered too close to the previous shot.
Sheba Hospital spokesperson Steve Walz said the study is designed “to find out if indeed this fourth vaccine will show it produces enough antibodies to fend off omicron and delta,” as well as whether there is any “adverse reaction,” other than the usual post-vaccine side effects.
“The idea is before the government decides whether to go ahead with another vaccination campaign, to check the efficacy of this vaccine,” he said.
The advisory board to Israel’s coronavirus cabinet concluded last week that the potential benefits of a fourth vaccine dose far outweigh its risks. The board pointed to early signs that immunity has waned since the first Israelis received their third shot in the summer. It warned that, with the omicron variant spreading rapidly across the country and the globe, it could not afford to wait.
“We can’t close our eyes and think happy thoughts,” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said in an interview with public broadcaster Kan on Monday. He cited a rise in infections and serious illnesses caused by the omicron variant, mostly among the unvaccinated. “We have to prepare,” he said.
According to Israeli Health Ministry data, 1,760 people tested positive on Sunday for the coronavirus, accounting for almost 2 percent of all tests performed. There are 87 people hospitalized in serious condition, including 38 on ventilators.
Early data from South Africa, where omicron first surged and has in recent days been receding, suggests that the variant may cause 80 percent fewer hospitalizations and instances of severe symptoms than delta and other previous variants.
But the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that this might not be the case in all other countries.
“Let’s be careful not to extrapolate what we [are] seeing in South Africa across the continent or across the world,” Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong said Thursday.
On Friday, the United Kingdom reported 122,186 cases, a record high. One in 20 – a ratio that has perhaps grown to as many as 1 in 10 people – are believed to be carrying the virus in London, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Israeli health experts have said that even if omicron cases are milder than those in previous waves, the sheer number of infected people could overwhelm hospitals.
“In the past 10 days, the number of people who have tested positive for the omicron variant rose from 20 a day to 450. That is more than a twentyfold rise within 10 days,” Eran Segal, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and consultant to the Israeli coronavirus cabinet, said in an interview Sunday with the Israeli news site Ynet. “I anticipate that within a week we’ll see thousands of people testing positive for omicron, and within two weeks we may cross the record high since the beginning of the pandemic – around 10,000 people testing positive daily.”
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Phuket chapter held a press conference on Sunday to announce the province’s biggest event of the year – “Amazing Thailand Countdown 2022”. The event will be held on New Year’s Eve at Saphan Hin Park in Muang district.
“Organized under the concept of ‘Amazing New Chapter @Phuket’, the countdown will feature Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and many top Thai artists,” said Thapanee Kiatphaiboon, TAT’s deputy director for the domestic market. “There will also be the magnificent ‘Pearl of Andaman’ light show featuring more than 20,000 fireworks that will be set off at midnight to welcome the New Year.”
Thapanee added that TAT plans to use the event to enhance Phuket’s position as the No 1 travel destination in Thailand and demonstrate the province’s readiness in welcoming tourists under effective Covid-19 management and a state-of-the-art healthcare system.
“We also expect the countdown event to help generate income for businesses in Phuket and nearby provinces from tourists entering under the Phuket Sandbox programme,” she added.
Although the government has suspended Thailand Pass applications under the Test & Go system since December 22 in a bid to curb the spread of Omicron, foreigners can still enter Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox scheme or opt for the alternative quarantine at certified hotels.
Under the Phuket Sandbox, visitors who tested negative upon arrival are required to stay in Phuket for seven days after which they can travel to other provinces provided they test negative using the RT-PCR method.
The government is scheduled to re-evaluate the situation and issue new regulations on the Test & Go scheme on January 4.
dtac has collaborated with Thai manufacturer ASEFA to launch virtual tours of the ASEFA factory for the very first time.
dtac has collaborated with Thai manufacturer ASEFA to launch virtual tours of the ASEFA factory for the very first time.
Leveraging the power of 5G, virtual reality (VR) and the Internet of Things (IoT), the project is an important prototype for medium-sized factories looking to tackle the challenges of a rapidly changing sector.
ASEFA, a leading manufacturer and provider of electrical switchboards for businesses and industries, is paving the way for how factories can carry out virtual tours safely and conveniently in the near future. Through VR headsets, these digital tours provide easy access to new and prospective customers, and ensure social distancing by eliminating the need for travel and in-person visits. Moreover, this collaboration with dtac also enhances security measures by introducing smart wireless surveillance systems with access to all areas of the premises.
Mr. Wichai Soontornvutikul, Executive Director of ASEFA PCL, said: “With this upgrade, we hope to see a 10% increase in visitors to the website and to the factory, expanding our reach to new audiences, including business owners and new-generation engineers familiar with the technology.”
Customers can also virtually visit the factory via a website, and ASEFA can support an average of 60 virtual visits per year.
The second component of ASEFA’s digital transformation into a smart factory involves an investment in 5G surveillance. Enhancing and modernizing the existing security system, 5G surveillance uses high-resolution imagery and high-volume wireless transmissions without requiring additional wiring. The improved system integrates facial recognition to provide contactless access control for employees and visitors, and alerts the company to any abnormalities, thereby delivering more efficient security.
Digital innovation is a priority for ASEFA. In addition to this project, the company has also established a new business division, the Innovation Group, for research & development work that seeks to enhance the capabilities of electric switchboards, respond to future usage needs, and differentiate ASEFA from its competitors. The Innovation Group will support the deployment of solar cells and embrace IoT for the improved monitoring and control of energy consumption.
With these industry-leading initiatives, and its alliance with dtac, ASEFA is an important use-case model for digital transformation in mid-range manufacturing, demonstrating how 5G and IoT can successfully be applied in a modern, state-of-the-art factory setting.
Mr. Krit Prapatsakdi, Head of Enterprise Sales Division at Total Access Communication PLC or dtac, said: “By bringing 5G technologies to support ASEFA’s digital transformation into a smart factory, we are raising the competitiveness of Thailand’s manufacturing industry, with the aim of attracting new investment to Thailand after the country reopens.”
The pandemic has led to increased investment within Thailand’s manufacturing sector, specifically for the creation of smart factories through IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies. According to the Kasikorn Research Center, the Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate the growth of the smart factory solutions (SFS) business by 10%, due in large part to the needs of large manufacturers that wish to reduce their dependence on labor.
Smart factories can enable continuous production and minimize an overreliance on traditional business operations that are vulnerable to pandemics and other disruptions. Beyond the pandemic, smart factories can also create greater flexibility for business lines and production, thereby increasing factory competitiveness.
dtac believes that becoming a smart factory entails greater connectivity, data collection, data integration and analytics. The 5G dtac network on 26 GHz enables this through intelligent camera systems that transmit real-time data to the control room, as well as factory access control with facial recognition.
In addition, dtac understands the importance of smart surveillance and energy management in a smart-factory setting. Data from the Deloitte 2020 Resources Study found that more than 48% of respondents are interested in reducing costs by investing in energy management systems.
dtac is ready to bring its extensive global experience to more pioneering collaborations that leverage 5G and other technologies to both respond to the challenges of the pandemic, as well as position Thailand as a model for medium-sized smart factories elsewhere in the world.
“We aim to support an exciting new industrial environment that is not only digital but will also create new, sustainable, and profitable solutions for changing industry structures,” Mr Krit concluded.
The year 2021 will probably go down in the annals of space history as a turning point, a moment when ordinary citizens started leaving Earth on a regular basis.
Multiple crews lifted off on several different spacecraft, and for a brief moment this month, there were a record 19 people in the weightless environment of space – and eight of them were private citizens.
But for all the achievements of 2021 – which include a rover landing on Mars, a small drone called Ingenuity flying in that planet’s thin atmosphere and the launch of the James Webb Space telescope, the most powerful space telescope ever – 2022 could hold just as much promise, if not more.
If 2021 was the year of the private space tourist, 2022 could be marked by the first steps toward a return to the moon, as NASA and the growing space industry seek to maintain the momentum that has been building over the past several years in what has amounted to a renaissance of exploration.
A pair of massive rockets, both more powerful than the Saturn V that flew the Apollo astronauts to the moon, are getting ready to fly in 2022. Those launches would mark the first significant steps in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2025 and create a campaign that would allow a permanent presence on and around the moon.
After years of development, and billions of dollars spent, NASA is finally gearing up to launch its Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule, which are designed to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since Apollo. The first mission, known as Artemis I, is scheduled for March or April and would send Orion, without any crew on board, to orbit around the moon.
If all goes well, it would be followed by Artemis II, in May 2024, which would again send Orion to orbit the moon, but this time with astronauts on board. NASA hopes a crew would be able to land on the moon by 2025, but that would depend on the success of previous flight tests and SpaceX’s ability to get its Starship spacecraft up and running.
Over the past year, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been moving feverishly toward the first orbital launch of Starship, the vehicle that won a $3 billion NASA contract this year to rendezvous with the Orion and transport NASA’s astronauts to the lunar surface.
Musk has said the company could attempt a launch in early 2022. Unlike the SLS, which would ditch its massive booster stage into the ocean after launch, Starship is designed to be fully reusable. After putting the Starship spacecraft into orbit, the Super Heavy booster would fly back to its launchpad where it would be caught by a pair of arms extended like chopsticks.
Earlier this year, the company attempted suborbital hops, where the spacecraft launched to an altitude of about six miles, belly flopped back to Earth horizontally, then righted itself and refired its engines before touching down.
Several of the landing attempts ended in fireballs. But in May, the company pulled off a successful landing, fueling Musk’s hope that the rocket could be used to transport people and cargo across the solar system.
“The overarching goal of Starship is to be able to transport enough tonnage to the moon and Mars,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post earlier this year. “And to have a self-sustaining base on the moon and ultimately a self-sustaining city on Mars.”
Ahead of an astronaut landing, NASA is planning to send science missions to the lunar surface. Those missions would also be carried out by contractors, hired by the space agency to deliver science experiments and technology demonstrations that NASA says would “help the agency study Earth’s nearest neighbor and prepare for human landing missions.”
The first would be by Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company that is aiming to deliver science experiments in early 2022 and again later in the year. That second mission, to the south pole of the moon, would have a drill that would probe the lunar regolith for ice. Astrobotic, based in Pittsburgh, is also planning to deliver payloads to the lunar surface under the NASA contract.
Rocket Lab is also scheduled to launch a small satellite to the moon to serve as a precursor for human missions by testing the orbit for the space station, known as Gateway, that NASA hopes to send to the moon. Rocket Lab, which launches from its site in New Zealand, hopes to have its first launch from the United States in 2022 from the pad it uses at NASA’s facility on Wallops Island, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
It also plans to attempt to recover a booster next year. But unlike SpaceX, which flies the first stages of its rockets back to landing sites on the ground or ships at sea, Rocket Lab intends to catch its relatively small booster under a parachute with a helicopter.
2022 should also see the debut of a number of new rockets, including the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, which would be used by the Pentagon to launch national security satellites. Relativity Space, which uses a 3-D printer to manufacture its rockets, plans to first launch of its Terran 1 vehicle from Cape Canaveral in the coming months as well.
Boeing also is looking to get back on track. 2021 was supposed to be the year it finally completed a test flight of its Starliner spacecraft, which is being designed to ferry NASA’s astronauts to and from the International Space Station. But once again it ran into trouble. At the end of 2019, the spacecraft suffered software problems, forcing the aviation behemoth to cut the test flight short. The spacecraft finally returned to the launchpad this summer, but never got off the ground.
This time, the company said the issue was hardware: 13 valves in the service module got stuck, forcing the company to bring the spacecraft back into its manufacturing facility. The company recently announced that it would have to swap out the service module. It’s now looking to attempt to launch again sometime in May. If that goes well, a launch with astronauts on board would follow.
The space station could see another new vehicle visit in 2022: Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, a spaceplane that looks like a miniature version of the space shuttle. The company has been developing the winged vehicle for years with the hopes of one day flying astronauts. But for now, it has a contract from NASA to use it to deliver cargo and supplies to the space station. And it recently announced that it received a $1.4 billion investment that it said would help accelerate the program.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which delivered two crews of astronauts to the space station in 2021, is slated to continue flying crews there in 2022. It also would fly at least one mission, chartered by Axiom Space, in which private astronauts who are paying $55 million apiece would spend a little more than a week on the station.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which flew three trips to the edge of space in 2021, plans to fly six or more suborbital flights in 2022. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) And Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is hoping to complete its test campaign and start offering commercial service on its suborbital spaceplane for paying space tourists.
While those flights go just past the edge of space to a few dozen miles high, NASA’s scientists and engineers will be focused on a far more distant destination, a million miles from Earth. There, the James Webb Space Telescope would begin to unfurl itself in delicate maneuvers after it was launched on Christmas Day on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket. NASA says there are 344 potential “single-point failures” and if anything goes wrong there is no way to send a repair crew.
But if it works, the telescope would be able to capture light from more than 13 billion years ago as the beginning of the formation of the universe.
The telescope has been called an Apollo moment for science and could start answering some of astronomy’s biggest questions about how the universe began.
“The whole point of this is to see the unseen universe,” John M. Grunsfeld, former head of science at NASA, recently told The Post. “James Webb will be able to see phenomena that Hubble can’t see, that ground-based telescopes can’t see. What are we going to discover that we had no idea was there?”
The Metaverse has unlimited potential to transform and disrupt every industry and human life, according to Metaverse Unlimited, Thailands first global online forum on the issue, organised by Translucia in Bangkok.
The new tech is expected to evolve changes impacting the pace of the economy, society, education, public health, and peace-making movement, said group of prominent futuristic world experts, including Cathy Hackl who is known as ‘The Godmother of Metaverse’, during the ‘Metaverse Unlimited’ forum held between December 15-16.
PP-Pat Pataranutaporn, a Thai Futurist and Graduate Research Assistant at MIT Media Lab, said the immersive potential of future tech can lead to where a single device can process, identify problems, find solutions, and produce a physical potion.
PP also suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) can help revolutionize education.
“Children can be taught by AI-generated historical figures, such as Albert Einstein and Harry Potter. The use of AI-generated characters would enhance motivation in online learning and offer students a tutor they have a connection to,” PP added.
Jeremy Bailenson, Founding Director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University and a leading authority on virtual reality (VR) technology, said VR can positively lead to social development as it allows them to do things they can’t do in the real world.
“It changes the way you think about others,” Bailenson said, adding that VR is “a tool to help you rethink the world.”
David Bray, Principal at LeadDoAdapt Ventures and Distinguished Fellow at both the Stimson Centre and Atlantic Council, pointed out that Metaverse technology can be a tool to promote peace and solve social problems.
He added the Metaverse allows users to walk in another’s shoes and come to a greater understanding of issues facing people livings in different countries, such as inequalities, conflicts, and discrimination.
Cathy Hackl, Chief Metaverse Officer and CEO of The Futures Intelligent, said apart from online games, Metaverse can provide benefits in other forms of the entertainment industry, including branding and marketing, to push beyond the limits of the real world.
Hackl said the Metaverse should be a world for everyone, where all should play the role of builder, develop and effectively use.
“It is not just one technology, and it is not just one company,” she said, “In the Metaverse “no one should feel left behind.”
Speaking of the Metaverse in architecture, the future tech is also used in design to better serve residents’ demands. It also helps preserve cultural heritage, says Saenawee Chatameteewong, Co-founder & Computational Design Director of DesireSynthesis.
He explained that “man and machine” can co-author projects throughout the process from the beginning as the new tech allows the designer, homeowner, and constructor to walk through every detail of the house in the virtual world.
“Working within the Metaverse will lower the chance of misunderstanding between designer, homeowner and builder, leading to high efficiencies in managing project and cost control,” he said,
Saenawee added that he envisions a future where traditional craftsmanship can be encoded and preserved in the Metaverse, allowing future generations to better understand Thailand’s cultural history.
Shajay Bhooshan, Associate Director of Zaha Hadid Architects, stated the expanse of the Metaverse will allow architects to build sustainable, user-friendly buildings and cities that protect and enhance the physical world.
Bhooshan added that property developers can tap into the 3 billion-strong gaming community to promote responsible architecture and get people to rethink how they view cities.
Dr Karndee Leopairote, Executive Vice President at FutureTales Lab by Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (FutureTales Lab By MQDC) and Foresight Researcher at Metaverse Unlimited forum, said Dr Jwanwat Ahriyavraromp, CEO and Founder of T&B Media Global (Thailand) and Translucia Metaverse, envisions Translucia as the bridge between the real and virtual worlds.
She added that this vision could drive positive impacts that matter to all by balancing society and the business economy in line with Translucia’s initiative “At Translucia Metaverse, all imaginations will become true.”
Interested people can watch the online forum here.
Three members of K-pop juggernaut BTS have been infected with the coronavirus, according to their management agency – the latest celebrities to announce they tested positive amid the global spread of the omicron variant.
The septet returned this month to South Korea from the United States, where it had its first concerts since the beginning of the pandemic.
RM, 27, and Jin, 29, tested positive for the virus Saturday evening, the Big Hit Music agency said in a statement. Another member, Suga, 28, was diagnosed Friday, a day after returning from the United States, according to the agency.
All three had been in quarantine after returning from the United States and had not come in contact with any other members of the group.
RM, Jin and Suga join a growing list of entertainers, athletes and politicians who have announced they tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months, wreaking havoc on sporting events and live performances.
The list includes singer Charlie Puth, tennis star Rafael Nadal and late-night host Andy Cohen – as well as Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Big Hit Music said all three BTS members who tested positive received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine in August.
RM and Suga did not exhibit any symptoms, while Jin showed a light fever and flu-like symptoms. They are self-isolating at home as per the country’s health guidelines, the agency said.
The South Korean pop group endorsed coronavirus vaccination during a speech in September at the United Nations. In November, the group traveled to Los Angeles in November to stage concerts and perform at the American Music Awards.
Earlier this month, Big Hit Music announced that the band members are taking an “extended period of rest,” citing the need to get “reinspired and recharge with creative energy.”
The Omicron Covid-19 variant has arrived in Thailand and is spreading, expert virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
He explained that the biggest concern was travellers testing negative during the incubation period and being allowed in under the Test & Go scheme.
Dr Yong also said it was difficult to pinpoint the origin of Omicron infections in Thailand because many events are being held that may have triggered transmissions.
“The wave of Omicron infections in Thailand is not beyond our expectation because it can be transmitted quickly, even among people who have received two jabs,” he said.
“Hence, people should strictly adhere to measures to contain the spread of the virus.”
He also admitted that he was concerned that people travelling over the New Year break would cause Omicron to spread further.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday that 205 Omicron cases have been confirmed in many provinces, including Chiang Mai and Songkhla.
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