First Omicron death reported in Australia, thousands of flights cancelled globally over weekend

Australia on Monday recorded its first death due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus amid another surge of cases, Reuters reported.

The man in his 80s contracted the infection at an aged care facility and died in a Sydney hospital. He was fully vaccinated but had underlying health conditions.

The states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland reported a total of 9,107 coronavirus cases on Monday, while five other states and territories were yet to release daily figures.

Even as the country was on track for another record rise in Covid cases, authorities refused to announce restrictions saying hospitalisation rates remained low.

Flights grounded

Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic continued to scramble Americans’ travel plans. More than 1,000 flights in the United States were cancelled on Sunday as employees tested positive for coronavirus, The New York Times reported.

According to the flight-tracking company FlightAware, more than 1,300 flights with at least one stop in the US had been cancelled as of Sunday evening. Many of the flight cancellations occurred on Delta, United, SkyWest, American and JetBlue airlines.

Derek Dombrowski, a JetBlue spokesman, said the airline has “seen an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron”.

Despite early studies showing that Omicron is milder than other variants, scientists are concerned by the sheer number of infections being recorded around the…

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