Per reporter: Zhang Lingxiao Per editor: Lan Suying
A new wave of COVID-19 infections is sweeping the world, with Europe at the center of this outbreak. On July 20, local time, the World Health Organization released the latest weekly report, Europe reported nearly 3 million new cases in a single week, close to 50% of the world's new cases, the hospitalization rate doubled, and nearly 3,000 people died of the new crown in a single week.
In addition, Japan and South Korea in the Asian region are also facing the impact of a new round of the epidemic. According to the WHO Weekly, Japan had 559,000 new confirmed cases last week, an increase of 107% over the previous week; South Korea reported 249,000 new confirmed cases last week, up 104 percent from the previous week.
At present, the Omiljung mutant strains BA.4 and BA.5 are becoming the main epidemic strains in the world, of which BA.5 accounts for the highest proportion of infected people. Experts said that although BA.5 has stronger immune escape ability and stronger transmission than other mutated strains, its lethality is not much different from other mutant strains.
Europe surged 3 million cases in a single week
According to WHO data, in the week ending 17 July, there were about 6.3 million new confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, of which 2.79 million were reported in the European region, almost half of the total number of new cases worldwide.
Image source: Screenshot of THE WHO Weekly
Hans Kluge, Director of who's Regional Office for Europe, said in a statement on 19 July that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the European region has tripled in the past six weeks. Although COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled over the same period, admissions in intensive care units have remained relatively low so far. However, as infection rates among the elderly continue to rise, nearly 3,000 people still die each week in Europe from covid-19 infection.
Swedish television quoted Agorica Baca, a senior expert of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as saying on the 20th that the number of hospitalizations and mortality rates will continue to rise in the coming weeks. The new COVID-19 outbreak is mainly triggered by the new subtypes BA.4 and BA.5 of the Olmikron strain, which currently accounts for 80% of new cases in Europe.
Kluge also warned that as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 increases, the number of hospitalizations is already increasing, and the number of hospitalizations in the autumn and winter when schools open and the weather turns cold will only increase further.
Kluge said that this time last year, the Delta strain of the new crown mutation virus swept across Europe due to the lifting of epidemic control and increased social activities. Now, Europe is in a similar situation, and this time the Omikejong mutant strain has a stronger spreading ability.
In order to reduce the spread of the virus, Europe may have to reintroduce measures such as masks on public transport and limits on large gatherings, Baca said.
Kluge stressed that governments and health authorities should act now to prepare for the coming months. The Southern Hemisphere, which is currently in winter, is experiencing a very active influenza season, which, along with COVID-19, is putting on the health system under constant strain, and a similar situation is likely to occur in the Northern Hemisphere through the autumn and winter. He urged all countries to continue to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance and prepare for autumn and winter.
The situation in Japan and South Korea is also grim
Outside of Europe, the epidemic situation in Asia is also grim, with the situation in Japan and South Korea being particularly worrying.
According to WHO's weekly report, Japan had 559,000 new confirmed cases in the week ending 17 July, an increase of 107% over the previous week. South Korea reported 249,000 new confirmed cases in the week ending on the 17th, an increase of 104% over the previous week.
On July 20, 152,000 new people were infected with the new coronavirus in Japan, a record high. On that day, the number of new confirmed cases in 30 first-level administrative regions in Japan hit a new high.
The new confirmed cases in Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture on the 20th exceeded 20,000, and the number of confirmed cases in Tokyo exceeded 20,000 after about 5 and a half months. Of Japan's 47 prefectures, 30 prefectures, including Osaka Prefecture, have recorded new levels of epidemic data.
According to the estimates previously released by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, the proportion of infected people with the subtype OF BA.5 of the Aomi Kerong strain has reached nearly 80% at this stage.
Japan's healthcare system is once again under enormous pressure. At present, the bed utilization rate in some prefectures in the country is close to or more than 50%, and the bed utilization rate in Okinawa Prefecture has exceeded 75%.
Image source: Visual China - VCG111375065404
In South Korea, according to Yonhap News Agency, the Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters of South Korea reported on July 19 that as of 00:00 on the same day, there were more than 73,000 new confirmed cases of new coronavirus in South Korea in a single day, the highest value in 83 days. As of the 20th, the cumulative number of people infected with the new crown virus in South Korea exceeded 19 million, accounting for about 37% of the total population of South Korea.
Some experts predict that this round of transmission in South Korea may once again have a situation of 200,000 to 300,000 new confirmed cases in a single day, and the Korean medical and health system must be prepared in advance.
Australia is also in the midst of a third wave of Theomewon wave. In the past 7 days, the country has cumulatively reported more than 300,000 confirmed cases. Australian authorities have warned that the actual number could double.
Under the threat of the epidemic, Australia's healthcare system is facing a great test. According to official data, on July 20, local time, about 5,300 Australians were hospitalized for covid-19 infection, not far from the record of 5,390 during the BA.1 outbreak in January. Among them, the number of hospitalizations in Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia has reached the highest level since the beginning of the new crown epidemic. Paul Kelly, Australia's chief medical officer, said in an interview that the number of people expected to be admitted to the hospital would soon reach an all-time high.
How pathogenic is BA.5?
The recent sharp rebound in the COVID-19 pandemic around the world is largely the result of the rapid spread of the Omiljunn variants BA.4 and BA.5.
In the past month to 13 July, the Omikerong variant was the main circulating strain of COVID-19, accounting for 95.4% of the total, according to the WHO Weekly Report. Among the subtypes, BA.5 is the highest proportion of infected people in Omikerong, and according to statistics, the proportion of this variant in the week ending July 10 has reached 53.59%, while the proportion of BA.4 is 10.57%.
Because BA.5 has a stronger immune escape ability than other mutated strains, some consider this to be the "worst mutant strain" since the outbreak of the epidemic.
BA.5 was first discovered in South Africa, quickly became the dominant local strain, and then spread rapidly in European countries such as Portugal.
Eric Lee, director of Scripps Research in the United States, said that he would not be able to do so. Eric Topol, a medical expert who has long been concerned about COVID-19, admits: "BA.5 is the worst version of the mutant we have seen so far. It takes the already widespread immune escape to new levels and enhances infectivity far beyond the Aumechjong mutant we've seen before. ”
It is worth noting that although this strain is significantly more transmissible than previous mutant strains, its toxicity and pathogenicity are not prominent.
On June 28, South African scientists published the first article on the severity of the condition of a BA.4/5 infected person on the pre-print open platform medRxiv. The researchers compared cases during the Omicron BA.4/5 epidemic from 1 to 21 May 2022 with laboratory-confirmed cases during previous outbreaks. The results showed that there was no difference in the risk of morbidity/critical illness in BA.4/5 cases compared with BA.1 cases, and all were lower than earlier strains.
WHO has also previously said in its weekly report that there is no evidence that BA.5 causes heavier or lighter diseases.
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