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According to the WHO, the coronavirus variant Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta. Many countries are taking precautions, the Netherlands even with a hard lockdown.
The infections with Omicron doubled every 1.5 to three days, communicated the World Health Organization WHO in Geneva. So far, the variant has been detected in 89 countries, it said.
WHO warned that hospitals may be overwhelmed in some places given the rapid increase in cases. “The number of hospitalizations in the United Kingdom and South Africa continues to rise, and given the rapidly increasing number of cases, it is possible that many health systems could quickly become overwhelmed,” Reuters news agency quoted the World Health Organization as saying.
In Germany, the corona situation remains tense – despite falling seven-day incidence nationwide. The Robert Koch Institute gave the value on Saturday with 321.8 – the previous day it was 331.8. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach expects a massive fifth Corona wave by the new Omicron variant.
This is also likely to make the situation at clinics much worse, said the head of the German Hospital Association, Gerald Gaß. If it is confirmed that omicron is much more contagious than delta and the severity of the courses is comparable, in the worst case we will have to deal with a large number of patients who are seriously ill at the same time, Gaß said. “For hospitals, this would be a further exacerbated situation beyond anything we’ve seen before.”
Health ministers call for stricter entry rules
The health ministers of the German states are now calling for stricter rules for entry into Germany. People who come from so-called virus variant areas should only be allowed to enter the country or transfer here on presentation of a negative PCR test, according to a resolution passed by the Conference of Health Ministers. The test should not be older than 48 hours at the time of departure. Rapid tests would not be accepted. In addition, the heads of department asked the federal government to lobby for the classification of Great Britain as a virus variant area in the short term. Currently, the Robert Koch Institute has designated only eight countries in southern Africa as virus variant areas, including South Africa.
Tough lockdown in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced a hard lockdown because of the Omicron variant. The measure should apply from Sunday until at least Jan. 14, Rutte said at a press conference. The move was unavoidable because of the upcoming fifth Corona wave, he said.
According to the government in The Hague, all schools are to close from Dec. 20 until Jan. 9. Non-essential stores, bars, restaurants, hairdressers and other public places will have to close from Dec. 19. Rutte recommended households visit no more than two people.
London mayor declares state of emergency
London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a state of emergency due to the rapid spread of the Omikron variant. The increase in Omikron cases is “very worrying,” Khan explained. Called a “major incident” in the U.K., the emergency allows authorities to assist each other to prevent a collapse of the health care system and other public services. Khan last declared a major incident in January amid a violent Corona wave as hospitals in the British capital were on the verge of collapse.
France introduces new vaccination passport
In France, seven to 10 percent of new infections are likely to be due to the Omicron variant, according to Health Minister Olivier Veran. “We already have several hospital hotspots of the Omikron variant, especially in the Paris area,” Veran said.
The rapid spread of Omicron, he said, is the reason for the introduction of a new vaccination passport early next year, which must be shown in restaurants and when traveling long distances on public transportation. Currently, a negative test is enough.
At the end of January, he said, France will also introduce mandatory third vaccination against the coronavirus for nursing staff and firefighters. Says Veran, “We don’t want 25 to 30 percent of nursing staff to be unable to work, as in Scotland, for example, because they were all contacts and therefore have to be quarantined.”
Ankara to donate own vaccine
Meanwhile, Turkey has promised 15 million Corona vaccine doses to African countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the unequal global distribution of vaccines at a Turkey-Africa summit in Istanbul. It is a “shame for humanity that only six percent of the African population has been vaccinated,” the president said. Once Turkey’s Turkovac vaccine has emergency approval, he said, Turkey will share it with Africa. Erdogan’s remarks did not indicate whether the government also plans to give doses of the internationally licensed vaccines to African countries until Turkovac is approved. Turkey uses BioNTech and Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, among others.
- hp, sources: news agencies/picture: pixabay.com
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