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The Omicron wave is sweeping through Europe. Some western countries have records of infection. Only in France, almost 465 newcomers were added during the day. illnesses. WHO’s prognosis sounds ominous: by March, Omicron could infect half of our continent’s population. What is happening in Europe with the Omikron, where is it hitting the most and what does it mean for Poland, where the fifth wave is already growing?
- Last week brought Europe over 8,8 million. new coronavirus infections. The WHO forecasts that half of the continent’s population could fall ill by March, keeping the pace of growth
- Some European countries have the highest infection rates since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the case in France, which on January 18 informed about another 464 thousand. illnesses
- However, there are places where the Omicron wave seems to soften. This is the case, for example, in Great Britain
- What development of events may take place in Poland, where Omikron is just accelerating? Prof. Filipiak notes that “the experiences of other countries – Great Britain, France, Spain – have nothing to do with Polish conditions”. Why?
- You can find more about the coronavirus on the TvoiLokony home page
Omicron will infect half of the population of Europe? WHO forecasts
Europe is at the epicenter of the pandemic. The week to week number of infections recorded on the continent is the highest in the world. The rate of growth is enormous, confirming that the Omicron is spreading faster than any previous variant. While in the holiday week (December 20-26), less than 3,3 million new cases were registered in Europe, the first week of January (January 3-9) already brought them to 7,6 million. Last week, there were already 8,8 million new infections.
Source: https://covid19.who.int/
The WHO estimates that half of all Europeans (and there are currently over 743 million of us) may become infected with Omicron at such a pace by March. Last week, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, Dr. Hans Kluge, spoke about it. – As predicted by the health assessment institute at the University of Washington in Seattle (IMHE), at this rate more than 50 percent. the population of the region (Europe) will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks, he said.
Effect? Hospitals across the continent full. As Dr Kluge notes, the wave of Omikron infections is already “testing health systems … in many countries where the variant has spread rapidly.” Omikron may also overload these systems in many other countries – emphasized the expert.
Omicron in Europe. The red zone covers the continent
The Omicron wave was moving from west to east of Europe. The situation we are in is shown in the latest ECDC epidemic map (January 13). Let us recall that it is created on the basis of data on the number of infections from the last 14 days. The currently dominant maroon color means that the number of cases per 100 thousand. more than 500. Red reports that the number of new infections exceeds 75 but is less than 500 per 100. Only Poland, Romania and part of Hungary are marked with this color. The updated ECDC map will be released on January 20. We will see how the situation has changed.
Looking at the latest statistics, you can see that the difficult situation is in France. On January 18, it was reported about 464 thousand. 769 new cases. Such numbers have not been seen in this country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is known that these statistics are mainly driven by the Omikron mutation.
- Record of COVID-19 infections in France. Almost 500 people during the day
Source: worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/
On January 18, the record of infections was also recorded by Italy, which informed about over 228 thousand. new infections. Unfortunately, it was also the day of the highest death toll in the fourth wave of the pandemic. 434 people lost their lives within XNUMX hours.
- Where in Europe is life the shortest? How is Poland doing? There is a report from the European Commission
The stabilizing situation in Great Britain may be a glimmer of hope. While there were rapid increases in infections until January 4, reaching over 218. new cases, then the statistics began to decline. On January 18, there were about 94,4 thousand new cases.
Source: worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/
The Omikron wave is already in Poland. Will it be like in Western Europe?
What is the significance of the above statistics for Poland, which entered the fifth – this time omicron – wave of the pandemic? We’ve certainly seen how infectious Omikron is. Fortunately, you can also see that although there are so many infections, it does not translate into gigantic numbers of deaths.
However, as noted in a recent conversation with Medonet, Prof. dr hab. med. Krzysztof J. Filipiak, cardiologist, clinical pharmacologist, co-editor of the first Polish textbook on COVID-19, “Even if it causes the need for hospitalization twice as often, if, for example, four times more people are infected than during the Delta mutant wave, twice as many patients will be hospitalized”. This means that the health care system will suffer even greater losses.
- The fifth wave attacked. Which provinces have the most infections?
However, this is not the end. – The point is that the experiences of other countries – Great Britain, France, Spain – have nothing to do with Polish conditions – notes prof. Filipiak. – Why? Because, unfortunately, we are a poorly vaccinated country, a country terrorized by anti-vaccines, a country that cannot cope with the introduction of covid passports, a country where the rulers meet in parliament with anti-vaccines and bless their demeaning science and reason concepts, says the specialist.
- In the province In the Pomeranian region, every second case is Omikron
– The only light in the tunnel for me is, paradoxically, that the omicron wave arrives with a certain delay, just after the fourth wave contamination. Perhaps, therefore, the cumulative immunity after the infection has just passed, plus a mediocre grafting, will help to slow down the momentum of this wave – emphasizes Prof. Krzysztof J. Filipiak. The entire interview with prof. Filipiak: Omikron is spreading all over Poland. Expert: We have a hard six weeks ahead.
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