According to the American Broadcasting Corporation, on December 14, local time, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that so far, no new coronavirus variant strain has been able to spread as quickly as Omicron (Omicron).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference on the same day: "There are currently 77 cases of infection reported, but it is possible that Omiljung already exists in most countries, but it has not yet been detected." ”
The World Health Organization said that in the past week, new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa have surged by 83% due to the impact of the Delta and Omicron variants, but the number of deaths has decreased compared with previous surges.
WHO warns that more infections may be forming, as the latest projections warn that Africa, the world's second- and second-most populous continent, may not reach 70% vaccine coverage until the end of 2024.
In the week to 12 December, africa saw more than 196 000 new confirmed cases, an increase of about 107 000 from the previous week, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 8.9 million, according to WHO data.
Currently, the number of new cases is doubling every five days, the shortest time to report this year. Despite the rapid spread of the outbreak, the death toll remains low, falling even 19 percent last week from the previous week, WHO said.
Africa is currently in the fourth wave of the pandemic. During that period, the number of deaths reported in the first three weeks was slightly higher than 3,000.
According to WHO, about half of the cases were reported at the same time during the third wave of the outbreak on the African continent, exacerbated by a highly contagious variant of Delta virus.
The surge in infections and low hospitalization rates are particularly pronounced in South Africa, where new cases increased by 66 percent last week from the previous seven days, WHO said. Despite a 65 percent increase in hospitalizations over the past week, ICU bed occupancy remains low at 7.5 percent, with 14 percent of hospitalized patients receiving supplemental oxygen therapy.
While the death toll remains low, WHO warns that this pattern could change in the coming weeks.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said in a statement on Tuesday: "We are cautiously optimistic that in the current new wave of outbreaks, deaths and severe illnesses will remain low, but vaccine roll-out in Africa is slow, which means both will be much higher than they should be." We know that new variants like Beta, Delta or Omicron could emerge at any time, triggering a new wave of outbreaks around the world, but vaccine-starved areas like Africa will be particularly vulnerable. "
According to CNN, on December 14, local time, Dr. Fauci, chief medical officer of the White House, said in an interview that given the spread speed of Omi kerong, it will definitely become the dominant strain in the United States.
"Omicron will be a challenge because it spreads very fast," Fauci said. ”
Fauci reiterated that so far, the Aumiqueron doesn't seem to be that serious, but adds: "Whether it's (the Semiqueron) itself less pathogenic or more protected in the community, we'll eventually see it enter the U.S. and become the dominant strain." "
According to British media reports, on December 14, local time, Angelique Coetzee, president of the South African Medical Association, said that in the case of the surge in cases caused by Omiclon, people were called on to take responsibility and go to the vaccine. Because the COVID-19 vaccine can still protect against the virus.
Coetzee said: "The symptoms in most cases are mild and we don't see the need to adopt stricter restrictions. Hospitals in South Africa have not yet been crushed by Omikron. Moreover, people are already feeling uneasy, so there is no need to restrict their movements anymore, the virus is already everywhere. Maybe at some point, we need to learn how to face it all. ”
She added that 422 people had been hospitalized for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, but she did not specify whether the hospitalized patients were infected with Delta or Omilon.
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