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The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts a dire situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic. By mid-March more than half of Europeans may have been infected by the Omicron variant.
Omikron is like a storm, passing from West to East through the European region and adding to the increased figures of the Delta variant, said WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly becoming the dominant variant in Western Europe and is now spreading to the Balkans.
Against the background of the current rate of spread of the Research Institute, IHME based on the calculation of possible patterns predicts that over 50 percent of the population in the European region could be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight months. A report by the institute on January 8 states explicitly; “Our models for the European region predict that the highest level will be reached in mid-January with over 12 million infections a day – but the highest quotas at the national level may vary considerably.”
“Use the remaining space of time
In the first weeks of 2022 alone, more than seven million cases of coronavirus were registered in the European region, which means that there is a doubling within a two-week time frame, said the WHO regional director, Kluge. Omikron has meanwhile been reported in 50 of the 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia.
Kluge called on countries without increasing numbers with the Omikron variant to use the time space to take action – omikron spreads faster than all previous variants of the Sars-CoV-2 virus. Kluge however calls for schools to remain open. This is extremely important for children, so schools should be the last places to be closed in case of need and the first to be reopened as the situation calms down.
Will Omikron overload the German healthcare system?
Even in Germany the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has meanwhile recorded a noticeable increase of the Omikron variant. During the last weeks of last year 31,000 cases were registered with Omicron, in the first weeks of 2022 the figure reached almost 53,000. What consequences a strong increase could have is still unclear.
The RKI’s weekly report on January 6 states that studies suggest that the number of people who will have to be hospitalized from the Omikron variant will be lower.
So far, the data are insufficient to assess exactly how severe the disease from the Omikron variant can be. It is clear that the number of infected people in Germany has increased in recent days. The seven-day incidence (the number of infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days) has increased. Currently at the federal level this quota is almost 388. / DW /
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