Omicron & Delta are forming a ‘tsunami’ of COVID cases 双重威胁

Omicron & Delta are forming a ‘tsunami’ of COVID cases

The head of the World Health Organization has warned the Omicron and Delta coronavirus variants could produce a “tsunami” of COVID-19 cases that will put “immense pressure” on healthcare systems.
“I’m highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible [and] circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at an online news conference on Wednesday.

Two years after the new coronavirus first emerged, top officials with the United Nations health agency have cautioned it was still too early to be reassured by initial data suggesting Omicron, the latest variant to be detected, led to milder disease.

First reported last month in Southern Africa, it is already the dominant variant in the United States and parts of Europe.
According to WHO’s figures, the number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11 percent last week compared with the previous week, with nearly 4.99 million newly reported from December 20 to 26.

New cases in Europe – which accounted for more than half of the total – were up 3 percent, while in the Americas it rose by 39 percent and in Africa by 7 percent. The global gain followed a gradual increase since October.

Concerned over the rise in cases, the WHO chief said it would put “immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems of [on] the brink of collapse”.
德尔塔和奥密克戎造成双重威胁
12月29日，世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞在新闻发布会上表示，目前，德尔塔变异株和奥密克戎变异株造成了“双重威胁”，使全球新冠肺炎病例数创下纪录，并再次导致了住院和死亡人数激增。谭德塞称，奥密克戎变异株的传播性更强，它与德尔塔变异株同时传播，导致出现“海啸般”的新冠肺炎确诊病例，他对此表示高度关注。谭德塞再次呼吁各国更公平的分享新冠疫苗，并督促人们采取全面的防护措施。但他表示，他仍乐观地认为，2022年可以结束新冠肺炎大流行的严重期。

Xiaomi to inject over $15 billion into R&D over the next 5 years

Xiaomi has announced that it is planning to invest over $15 billion into research and development (R&D) over the next five years.
Xiaomi Chairman and founder Lei Jun said that the company's goals for investment into R&D in the next 5 years have been increased to 100 billion Yuan (around $15 billion).
The company's previous announcement from a couple of years back had set the amount at 50 billion Yuan, so the upgraded plans impart a perfect two-fold increase, the report said.

The CEO further revealed under the same post that 22 billion Yuan had already been invested over the past two years and that Xiaomi now has 16,000 engineers, meaning things have been going smoothly and in accordance with plans, it added.

He said that all of it is being done to "live up to the expectations of Mi Fans".
As per the report, the investment also very likely has a major role to play in getting the company to diverge into other businesses including smart home products and even electric vehicles.
小米未来5年研发投入将超1000亿
在小米12新品发布会上，小米集团董事长雷军表示，未来5年研发投入将超1000亿，比原计划翻一番。
除了总结2021年的难处以及加大研发投入外，宣布对标苹果、向苹果学习，是雷军强调的另一个重点。“未来一段时间，我们要一步步超越苹果。基于这样的战略，我们制定了Xiaomi12‘双尺寸、双旗舰’的产品策略。”雷军说。

Kuaishou teams up with Meituan to fend off Douyin challenge

Short video app Kuaishou and food delivery giant Meituan announced a strategic partnership to connect their platforms on Monday.
With the deal, Kuaishou and Meituan will work closer to fend off their common rival Douyin, the TikTok’s Chinese version, which is accelerating its foray into Meituan’s home turf of local lifestyle services.

Kuaishou announced the partnership with Meituan at its Ecological Opening Conference held on Monday. The new deal between the two companies allows Kuaishou users to access Meituan’s lifestyle services, such as ordering food, through a newly launched Meituan mini-program without leaving the short video app.

Meituan’s mini-program on Kuaishou currently only supports its core food delivery features, allowing users to browse restaurant listings, place orders, and access after-sales services. Users can also redeem vouchers and make reservations through the mini-program.

In a Monday statement, the food delivery giant said that it plans to expand offerings in the mini-program to include more categories such as booking hotels, homestays, travel attractions, and beauty salons.

In the tie-up, Kuaishou is giving Meituan access to its large user base (573 million monthly active users in China in Q3 this year). In return, it hopes to gain higher user retention by integrating daily services.  
The short-video company also launched its “one-stop open platform” at the Monday event. The new platform incorporates a series of features such as mini-programs, service accounts, point of interest interfaces, and various tools that help merchants and service providers to manage their branding, marketing, and supply chains.
快手联手美团
12月27日，快手与美团宣布达成互联互通战略合作，美团将在快手开放平台上线美团小程序，为美团商家提供套餐、代金券、预订等商品展示、线上交易和售后服务等完整服务能力，快手用户将能够通过美团小程序直达。现已完成餐饮品类的试点上线，未来还将陆续上线酒店、民宿、景区、休闲玩乐、美容美发、剧本杀等多个生活服务品类。
美团快手此次合作，将在2022年元旦进入落地试运行阶段，此时正值春节消费旺季。

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