South Africa is among the countries that have recently had the coronavirus under control. In early November, the country registered the lowest infection pressure since the start of the pandemic.
At the end of the month, however, the situation was turned upside down, when the new mutation omicron was discovered.
Since then, infection rates have skyrocketed, and experts believe that there is a high probability that many of the infection cases are linked to the new variant, writes Sky News.
– Can be difficult to stop
400 percent admission increase
Until recently, South Africa has registered around 300 daily cases of infection – a number that on Sunday was as high as 3220, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The infection situation has also accelerated hospital admissions. In the last four weeks, the national admissions figures have increased by 63 per cent. In Gauteng alone, the country’s most populous province, admissions have increased by almost 400 percent in the last month – from the first 120 in the week of November to 580 last week, writes NBC.
Public health specialist Waasila Jassat says that the huge increase in the Gauteng province has taken place in a short time, but emphasizes that the hospitalization numbers are at the same level as during previous waves of infection.
There is still a lot that is not familiar with the new variant, including how contagious and dangerous it is. Despite the fact that South Africa has registered a sharp increase in both cases of infection and the number of admissions recently, it has not yet been confirmed whether this is due to the emergence of the new mutant.
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Global risk
WHO describes the new corona variant omikron as a concern variant that can pose a very high global risk. Researchers are concerned that the mutated virus will spread faster and that vaccines are not as effective.
“Omikron has a number of spike mutations that are unparalleled, some of which are very worrying given their potential impact on the development of the pandemic,” the WHO wrote.
Experts disagree on measures
In recent days, omicrone has also been detected in Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. The variant has not yet been proven in Norway, but NIPH does not rule out that the variant may already be in the country without it being proven.
On Tuesday at 12 noon, the government will hold a press conference on the corona situation, where it has been announced that they will present new measures to keep the omikron at bay.
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