January 12 coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant news

Wearing a face mask can reduce the distance that aerosols and droplets travel when someone is speaking or coughing – possibly by half, a new study suggests.

The study, published Wednesday in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, adds to mounting evidence that shows face masks help limit the spread of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, and other airborne respiratory pathogens too.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida in Orlando conducted the study, involving 14 participants ages 21 to 31. Each participant recited a phrase and simulated a cough for five minutes in three different scenarios: without wearing a mask, while wearing a single-layer cloth mask, and while wearing a three-layered disposable surgical mask. N95 and KN95 masks were not included in the study. The phrase participants recited was, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog into a field of pretty playful perpetually purple pandas."

The researchers used high-power illumination instruments to detect aerosols and droplets coming from the participants as they spoke and simulated coughs.

The researchers found that without face coverings, droplets and aerosols traveled up to about 4 feet when someone was speaking, and up to 4.5 feet when coughing. The cloth mask reduced those maximum distances to about 2 feet for speech and 2.2 feet when coughing, and disposable masks reduced the distances further to 0.50 feet for both scenarios, according to the study.

The researchers added that their findings suggest practicing a physical distance of 3 feet while wearing a mask appears to be equally as effective as 6 feet of physical distancing without a mask.

The current US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for social distancing is to stay 6 feet apart. 

Boris Johnson has apologized for attending a gathering in the back garden of 10 Downing Street on May 20, 2020, at which point Britons were prohibited from gathering due to strict coronavirus restrictions.

At the start of the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions, Johnson said he did attend the gathering for 25 minutes before going inside to work. He said he believed the gathering to be a work event, but with hindsight conceded he should have sent attendees back inside.

Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer said the UK Prime Minister's excuse that he "did not realize he was at a party" was ridiculous and "offensive." The Labour Party leader went on to ask if the Prime Minister would resign.

The Prime Minister's comments on Wednesday came after days of outrage over a "bring your own booze" event held at Downing Street during the height of the UK's first Covid-19 lockdown.

Read the full story: Boris Johnson apologizes for attending Downing Street party during lockdown

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said in a statement to Parliament that he wants to apologize over a drinks party held at 10 Downing Street during the country's first lockdown.

“I know the rage they feel with me and with the government I lead when they think in Downing Street the rules are not being properly followed by the people they make the rules,” Johnson said.

“I must take responsibility,” he said.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has called on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign over a party at Downing Street in May 2020.

Starmer called Johnson’s attempts to explain the party a “pathetic spectacle,” and called on him to "do the honorable thing" and resign during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday.

A leaked e-mail published on Monday showed one of Britain’s top officials invited staff to “socially distanced drinks in the No. 10 garden” on May 20, 2020, when the country was under strict coronavirus restrictions.

Johnson said he "wanted to apologize" over the party in his opening statement on Wednesday.

“I must take responsibility,” he said.

Johnson later added that misjudgments were made and that he apologizes for them.

“I want to repeat that I thought it was a work event and Mr speaker I regret very much that we did not do things differently that evening," said Johnson.

In the lead up to Wednesday's PMQs, various British lawmakers called on Johnson to resign if he has misled Parliament about whether he was present during the party.

“If he has breached his own guidance, if he has not been truthful, then that is an extremely important issue. If the Prime Minister has misled Parliament, then he must resign," Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, told Sky News on Tuesday.

Other Conservative MPs have been sharing their anger and frustration.

Christian Wakeford, Conservative MP for Bury South, tweeted: “How do you defend the indefensible? You can’t! It’s embarrassing and what’s worse is it further erodes trust in politics when it’s already low.”

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner described Johnson's position as "untenable" on Wednesday.

Speaking to the BBC, Rayner said: “if he was at that party, he knows he broke those rules and has to act accordingly.”

Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster, added to calls for Johnson's resignation.

Blackford told Sky News that if Johnson had broken ministerial code, he would "have to go."

This would “really stick in the throat of people” who had not been able to grieve properly for those who had died at the time the party was held," added Blackford.

On the day the party is alleged to have happened the UK recorded 268 deaths on its coronavirus dashboard.

On Tuesday a group of people who lost family members to Covid-19 wrote to Johnson to express their anger over the fresh evidence that parties took place during lockdown.

Hannah Brady’s father passed away four days before the party allegedly took place.

“On the 20th May 2020, my dad’s death certificate was being signed. We were arranging his funeral 30 years too early…" Brady wrote Tuesday on behalf of a group named COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice.

"I had to stand and watch my grandparents break down over a hole in the ground, terrified that if I went near them they would catch Covid and die too,” she added. 

Boris Johnson is facing perhaps the toughest day of his political career to date on Wednesday as outrage mounts over a "bring your own booze" event held at Downing Street during the height of the UK's first Covid-19 lockdown.

On Monday night, it emerged that his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, had emailed an invitation to more than 100 Downing Street staffers to "socially distanced drinks in the No. 10 garden" on May 20, 2020.

The email, which has been independently confirmed by CNN, told guests to "bring your own booze" and "make the most of the lovely weather."

This happened while the UK was in a hard lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19. At the time, people in England were banned from meeting with more than one other person outdoors, and would be legally punished for doing so. In workplaces, official guidance stated that in-person meetings should only take place if "absolutely necessary."

Johnson has refused to deny reports that he and his wife, Carrie Johnson, attended the event. But later Wednesday Johnson was set to face questions in Parliament on whether he was there; whether he knew about the drinks or sanctioned them; and whether he misled Parliament about a series of parties reportedly held at Downing Street during several lockdowns in 2020.

Read the full story here:

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Boris Johnson under growing pressure from lawmakers over 'BYOB' party during lockdown

On Wednesday the Chinese city of Tianjin locked down three districts affecting 2.1 million residents, according to the municipal government.

The move after comes after the city recorded a total number of 137 infections since local Omicron cases were first detected on January 9.

After the city put several communities under strict lockdown on Sunday, Tianjin authorities further restricted people’s movements in three districts where most clusters of infections were detected. This means 2.1 million people are prevented from leaving their homes, and all the public entertainment facilities and restaurants in those districts are closed.

All in-person schools in the city were suspended, and colleges were sealed off with students banned from leaving the campus, the local government announced Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, a total of 22 million people in four Chinese cities are under lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreaks.

About 70 South Korean company executives and employees have tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in the US last week, according to South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

“I have one request. Many people who attended the CES international electronic product fair in Las Vegas, US, last week are testing positive for Covid-19,” a senior health official Son Young-rae said in a health briefing on Wednesday.

“We are promptly contacting them and conducting an epidemiological investigation for those who participated in the event but we urge business people who attended this event or those who have already arrived in South Korea [after attending the event] to receive a PCR test as soon as possible,” Son said.

Samsung, Hyundai and SK are among the major South Korean companies to have participated in the CES event this year.

Six Hyundai Heavy Industries staff who attended the CES tested positive for Covid-19 and they have been in hotel quarantine in the US, without symptoms.

Two of the six have recently tested negative and are on their way back to Seoul, while the other four remain in quarantine in the US, Hyundai Heavy Industries official told CNN without specifying how many people attended the event.

According to SK, six or seven staff members have tested positive after the event so far. The company told CNN that all of its participants were fully vaccinated and complied with the mask mandate.

In a statement to CNN, Samsung said it “took a number of steps to protect the health and well-being of attendees,” including requiring vaccines, strictly adhering to mask mandates and establishing social distancing protocols. The company “will take additional protective measures as needed," it added.

This year’s CES event was held in Las Vegas from January 5-7.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has urged businesses in the capital to brace against the virus as Covid-19 cases continued to climb.

“The spread of infections may disrupt social activities. We are urging businesses to review their priorities and create contingency plans to avoid such a situation,” Koike said Wednesday during a video conference with members of Tokyo’s business community.

It is essential to ensure that the medical sector and Tokyo’s supply chains and social infrastructure can keep operating amid the pandemic, added Koike.

According to local government data, Tokyo reported 2,198 Covid cases on Wednesday -- more than double the case count from a day earlier. The last time cases topped over 2,000 was September 4, 2021, when the capital recorded 2,370 cases.

Meanwhile, Osaka prefecture in western Japan recorded about 1,711 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, nearly a three-fold increase from a day earlier, and their first rise beyond 1,000 cases since September 15, according to local government data.

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said Wednesday that cases might rise even further, given how infectious the Omicron variant is.

However, the governor added that the number of severely ill patients was still low in the prefecture, with only six seriously ill patients as of January 12.

As of Tuesday, Japan reported 6,239 people had tested positive for Covid-19 nationwide, according to the country’s Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor. 

On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that strict border control measures would remain in place until the end of February 2022.

Japan has mainly only admitted Japanese nationals and returning foreign residents since November 30, 2021, in a bid to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.

Japan has pledged to speed up its vaccination booster program, with the central government announcing Tuesday that it would help local authorities establish large-scale vaccination centers to administer booster shots, according to a statement released by the Japanese Prime Minister’s office.

Australian Border Force (ABF) officials are investigating possible inconsistencies in documents related to Novak Djokovic’s December PCR result, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN Wednesday.

The investigation will also look into the tennis player’s account of his movements in the days after he tested positive for Covid-19 in Serbia, the source added.

The ABF has not yet determined whether these issues may impact the validity of Djokovic’s current Australian visa, the source said.

On Tuesday, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported possible discrepancies in the digital data attached to Djokovic’s PCR tests. The PCR test documents were filed in court by Djokovic’s lawyers and published online. 

Positive and negative results for the same PCR test appeared when Der Spiegel retroactively accessed the results using an attached QR code, the outlet reported.

A CNN contributor and various internet users also reported seeing the same issue. There was no indication as to what might have caused a discrepancy.

Tests carried out by CNN on Wednesday showed only a positive result, consistent with the documents filed to court. 

Also Wednesday, Djokovic admitted he had not immediately isolated on learning of his positive test result after a tennis awards ceremony December 17. 

Instead, Djokovic met journalists from French outlet L’Equipe for an interview on December 18, in an apparent breach of Serbian health regulations, which require 10 days of isolation after a positive PCR test. 

The ABF will investigate whether this and possible other breaches of Serbian regulations impact his visa status in Australia, the source said. 

The authority is already looking into Djokovic’s movements prior to entering Australia in relation to a possible false travel declaration submitted ahead of his arrival in Melbourne on January 5, the source told CNN.

Australia asks incoming travelers to declare whether they have traveled internationally, or whether they intend to, in the 14 days ahead of their planned arrival.

It is not a requirement of entry to have stayed in one country for two weeks before attempting to enter, but Australia insists any countries visited are declared.

According to court documents, Djokovic did not declare that he had been in Spain as well as Serbia in the two weeks prior to arrival in Australia.

Djokovic acknowledged that “human error” in a statement Wednesday.

“My agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia,” Djokovic stated. 

Djokovic’s lawyers declined to comment to CNN.