© REUTERS
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The risk of ending up in hospital if infected with the omikron variant of the coronavirus is 69 percent lower than with the delta variant. So says the Norwegian health institute FHI.
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mtmSource: BELGIAN
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In the first week of 2022, the omikron variant was identified in 32 percent of hospital admissions, compared to a share of 1.7 percent four weeks earlier. In the same time span, however, the variant has become dominant. Omikron is now responsible for 90 percent of new corona infections in Norway.
“The omikron variant causes a significantly lower risk of developing a serious disease, especially in vaccinated people,” the FHI underlines. “Unvaccinated people are at a higher risk of a serious disease course. Older age and underlying conditions increase that risk even more,” according to the FHI.
Nevertheless, the Norwegian health authorities expect an omikron wave that could put a lot of pressure on healthcare. Several thousand people will become infected between January and March, with possible peaks of up to 50,000 infections per day. Pressure on hospitals would peak sometime between late January and early February, the FHI estimates.
Due to the outbreak of the epidemic, the Norwegian government reintroduced a number of corona measures in mid-December. For example, there is a ban on selling alcohol in cafes and restaurants and teleworking is mandatory where possible.
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