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The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, stated that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading faster and wider than previous variants and warned that within 6-8 weeks more than half of Europe will becomes infected with the Omicron variant.
In a press conference via video conference, Kluge said that in the WHO European region over 7 million cases of Omicron were identified in the first week of the year and that an increase of twice as much was observed compared to a week ago. first.
In Europe, 26 countries report that every week more than 1 percent of their population is infected with COVID-19, said Kluge, who pointed out that a great deal of pressure could be put on countries’ health systems.
Kluge said that in the region of Europe and Central Asia in which he is in charge, the Omicron variant has been defined in 50 of the 53 countries, that Omicron has quickly become dominant in Western European countries and that it has spread rapidly in the Balkans.
The Omicron variant is spreading faster and with wider dimensions than the previous variants, Kluge pointed out, calling on the countries to make the installation of high quality masks mandatory indoors.
Kluge also demanded that at-risk groups, including health workers and the elderly, be given priority in carrying out booster vaccinations.
“According to the forecasts of the Institute for Health Measurement and Evaluation (IHME) in the next 6-8 weeks with the Omicron variant will be infected more than half of the population of Europe”, said Kluge, emphasizing that there is deep concern that may to have more deaths with the spread of the Omicron variant in Eastern European countries where vaccinations are less./AA/
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