THE OMICRON VARIANT is leading to record levels of Covid-19 infections in Ireland and across Europe, with many countries breaking their highest case numbers on a daily basis.

Over 100 million cases of the virus have been recorded in Europe since the pandemic first hit in early 2020, according to a tally by news agency AFP.

In Ireland yesterday, there were 21,302 cases of Covid-19 reported by health officials, with 884 in hospital and 90 in ICU.

Education Minister Norma Foley also met with teaching stakeholders yesterda ahead of school reopenings tomorrow.

The cabinet is also set to meet today.

Free antigen tests are also being made available for symptomatic under-40s as part of efforts to ease the pressure on the PCR testing regime, two months after a mooted subsidy scheme was scrapped by the government.

Due to the high case numbers, there has been some disruption to public transport, with Irish Rail being forced to cancel some services due to staff being out sick.

While Ireland has closed nightclubs, restricted opening hours for hospitality and put curbs on the number of people who can visit households, what are other European countries doing to tackle the spread of Omicron?

UK

There have been record levels of Covid-19 cases reported across the UK in recent days, alongside rising concern over the pressure these cases are putting on the NHS.

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has said that the NHS is likely to face “considerable pressure” for several weeks due to Omicron, with high numbers of hospital out sick due to having the virus or being a close contact.

While Johnson has said that they will continue to keep current restrictions under review, he believes that the current measures are sufficient to combat the new variant.

“So together with the Plan B measures that we introduced before Christmas we have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again,” said Johnson, speaking at a Downing Street press conference yesterday.

“We can keep our schools and our businesses open and we can find a way to live with this virus.”

Under new measures, 100,000 critical NHS workers will be tested daily using antigen tests to help protect the UK’s health service.

Yesterday, the UK government logged over 200,000 cases of Covid-19, its highest ever in a single day.

There were a total of 218,724 cases of the virus reported – the most since the pandemic began.

Press Association Images Press Association Images

Currently, England has the most relaxed Covid-19 restrictions in the UK, with Covid passes being required to enter nightclubs or indoor events with over 500 people. 

Face coverings are also compulsory in indoor areas and on public transport, with people being asked to work from home where possible.

The Government are also planning on introducing face masks for secondary school students, with measures to be discussed when parliament rises today.

Current self-isolation rules for people with Covid-19 are that people must isolate for seven days, and take an antigen test each day.

Elsewhere in the UK, measures are stricter with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland restricting hospitality, requiring table service only and restricting the number of people per individual group.

Nightclubs are closed in all three jurisdictions.

In Wales, they have brought the isolation time for positive Covid-19 cases down to seven days, with lateral flow (antigen) tests on days six and seven. 

France

There have also been record levels of Covid-19 cases reported in France in recent days, with the country moving to bring in vaccine passes for pubs, restaurants and long-distance public transport.

Over the last several days, there has been an average of 160,000 Covid-19 cases reported in France each day, with peaks over 200,000.

“The tidal wave has indeed arrived, it’s enormous, but we will not give in to panic,” French Health Minister Olivier Veran told parliament.

The measure, currently being brought through the French parliament, is aiming to get the remaining five million unvaccinated people vaccinated.

Yesterday, however, the bill was held up by opposition politicians as not enough government MPs were present during the debate.

The French government had planned for the bill to come into effect on 15 January, with a government spokesperson telling French France Inter radio that they would do “everything” to stick to their calendar.

Alongside the proposed vaccine passes, self-isolation for those with a confirmed case of Covid-19 has also changed, with it now lasting for seven days.

However, those who are fully vaccinated can leave after five days, if they test negative after the five days.

The French Health Ministry said that the changes were to “benefit-risk balance aimed at ensuring the virus is controlled while maintaining socio-economic life”.

Germany

Recent travel restrictions from countries badly hit by Omicron have been relaxed by Germany in recent days, with countries like South Africa and the UK now being on a “high-risk” list. 

Restrictions on gatherings were also brought in, with a maximum of 10 people allowed to meet together from 28 December. Nightclubs were also closed ahead of the New Year.

The country’s expert pandemic panel also held a meeting yesterday to submit new recommendations to the German government to handle the spread of the Omicron variant.

State and federal leaders are also set to meet on Friday to discuss new measures.

There were 30,561 new cases of the virus reported by the German national disease control centre yesterday, with the German health minister saying that the real figure was probably two or three times higher than official reports.

There were also 356 deaths reported yesterday.

There has also been violence reported at protests against Germany’s Covid-19 restrictions, with reports showing one person tried to steal a weapon from a police officer.

While a majority of the protests remained peaceful, in the town of Lichtenstein a brawl broke out when police tried to take 60 people out of the march to check their identities after they were found to be rowdy.

Saxony police said that several of the protestors attacked police and sprayed them with chemical irritants, as well as attempting to steal a service weapon.

“One person attempted to seize an officer’s service weapon and another police officer suffered a bite wound from a participant of the gathering,” Saxony Police said in a statement.

Further east, in Bautzen, 600 protestors tried to break through a police cordon but were stopped by police with batons and pepper spray.

The Netherlands

In December, the Netherlands announced that it would be entering into a lockdown. 

Dutch PM Mark Rutte made the announcement to close all non-essential shops, cultural and entertainment venues until 14 January, with schools remaining closed until 9 January.

The move was done due to the spread of the Omicron variant within the Netherlands, despite over 85% of the Dutch population being vaccinated against Covid-19.

In recent days there have been protests against the restrictions, with thousands protesting in Amsterdam despite a ban handed down by the local government over concerns of violence.

Police clash with protestors in Amsterdam PA PA

Police later pushed the protestors away from Amsterdam’s Museum Sqaure, with riot police marching across the grass and spreading protestors into the surrounding streets.

With the lockdown in place, Covid-19 infection rates have been decreasing, with 85.55 cases per 100,000 being reported in the last week.

Additional reporting by AFP and Press Association