On top of a rise in the Delta variety, Dr Hans Kluge claimed a “west-to-east tidal wave” of Omicron was sweeping through the region. The forecast was based on the seven million new cases reported in the first week of 2022 across Europe. In just two weeks, the number of infections has more than doubled.
According to recent research, Omicron is less likely than prior Covid versions to cause significant illness. However, even if people are fully vaccinated, Omicron is highly contagious and can infect them. The unprecedented number of people infected has put a burden on health-care systems.
“Today, the Omicron version signifies a new west-to-east tidal wave, sweeping through the region on top of the Delta surge, which all countries were able to manage until late 2021,” Dr Kluge said at a press conference. “More than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks,” he said, citing the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.
The UK reported a total of 142,224 confirmed cases of the virus and 77 deaths on Monday. Due to staff absences and mounting demands caused by Covid, a number of hospitals have declared “serious” situations.
Hospital admissions are also on the rise in other parts of the country. Last week, France’s Health Minister, Olivier Veran, warned that January will be a difficult month for hospitals.
In Eastern Europe, Poland reported that 100,000 people have died as a result of the virus since the outbreak began. Poland presently has the world’s sixth-highest Covid-19 death rate, and over 40% of its population is still unvaccinated. In Russia, top consumer health official Anna Popova warned a meeting of the government’s coronavirus task force that if nothing is done to stop the virus from spreading, the number of new Covid cases might approach 100,000 per day.
The daily infection rate has been falling recently after peaking at 41,335 instances in early November says news agency. Ms Popova stated that 305 cases of the Omicron type had been discovered so far in 13 different regions of the country. To date, Russia has logged 311,281 deaths and 10.5 million cases.
Pfizer announced on Monday that a version of its vaccine that provides further protection against Omicron will be available in March. It’s unclear whether this is necessary, according to health experts.
Source: BBC
