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The Omikron variant, against which other countries in the world are closing down, begins to dominate in South Africa. Officials there said it was responsible for three-quarters of COVID-19 detections. The disease is growing rapidly. On Wednesday, over 8,5 thousand were announced. coronavirus infections. This is twice as much as on Tuesday.
- Omicron is a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus detected in South Africa. It is also marked as variant B.1.1.529, originally it was also referred to as the Nu strain
- Omikron has already been identified in over 20 countries around the world
- It is most widespread in South Africa. According to the local services, medical personnel is responsible for three-quarters of coronavirus cases
- He has just caused a new wave of pandemic in this country. The increase in new cases is dramatic
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Omikron variant in South Africa – a sharp increase in infections
The Omikron variant, which is of concern around the world, has been discovered in southern African countries. He was identified in Botswana in early November, then South Africa. Currently, according to the GISAID database, it is most widespread in the latter country. Its speed of spread is alarming, resulting in a sharp increase in infections, reported by local authorities.
- Variant of Omikron – bad and good news
Dr Michelle Groome of South Africa’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NICD) said there has been an “exponential rise” in COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, the daily average for the last seven days was less than 300, last week it was over 1000, now it is almost 3. 800.
On Wednesday, the South African Ministry of Health informed about 8. 561 new cases of coronavirus. This is twice as much as the previous day (4). A week earlier, there were 373 thousand. 1 infections, two weeks earlier – 272.
Another pandemic wave has kicked off in South Africa.
“The degree of growth is worrying,” said the Groom.
According to the NICD data, 74 percent. of all the coronavirus cases sequenced last week in South Africa are the Omikron variant. It was first detected in a sample collected on November 8 in Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province.
Omicron in the world – where did it appear?
To date, the Omikron variant has been detected in at least twenty countries around the world. According to the GISAID database, the most cases were identified in South Africa, Ghana (60% of all coronavirus cases) and Botswana.
He has already reached all continents. In Europe, the largest number of cases – a dozen each – were detected in Great Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal, and several – in Germany, Italy, Austria and Belgium. Isolated cases have occurred in the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland and Sweden.
- Prof. Horban: We don’t have a large number of deaths. How is it really?
Outside of Europe, it has been found in Israel, Brazil, Hong Kong, USA, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.
There is no official information yet that it will be located in Poland.
Omicron and vaccines
Experts are constantly analyzing the extent to which current vaccines provide protection against Omicron. World Health Organization epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove recently said that data on the infectivity of the Omikron variant should be available within days.
NICD experts say the earliest epidemiological data showed that Omikron is somewhat capable of evading our immune response, but existing vaccines should still protect against severe symptoms and death. BioNTech director Uğur Şahin said the vaccine, developed in collaboration with Pfizer, provides strong protection against the risk of severe disease caused by the Omikron variant.
- Infections and deaths in November. We compare the peak of the fourth wave to the previous waves
In the face of the new threat, individual countries are accelerating the next stages of vaccination.
The European Commission – after a previous positive assessment of the European Medicines Agency – has accelerated the start of vaccines for children between 5 and 11 years of age by one week. Distribution of the preparation in EU countries will start on December 13. – Prepare for the worst, hope for the best – Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said at a press conference.
The United Kingdom and the United States are expanding their booster dosing programs, and Australia is also working on rescheduling.
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
Also read:
- Omicron. The new Covid-19 variant has a name. Why is it important?
- What are the symptoms of the new Omikron variant? They are unusual
- COVID-19 has taken over Europe. Lockdown in two countries, restrictions in almost all [MAP]
- What are the symptoms of COVID-19 patients now?
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