Hospital staff members wearing face masks, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walk at the Royal London Hospital, in London, Great Britain, on December 31, 2021. Photo: May James / Reuters / Archive
Several nations of the world report in recent days an increase in positive cases to the Covid-19 and, some European governments have confirmed that these are the highest figures since the start of the pandemic.
Vienna authorities, for example, reported just over 17,000 cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, which represents a growth of 47% compared to the data made public the day before.
The increase in infections is due to the expansion of the Omicron variant, although this situation has not yet affected the hospital occupancy , and the number of patients in intensive care maintains the downward trend in recent weeks in that nation.
In that scenario, the government maintains the intention of applying the obligation to be vaccinated as of February and will impose fines on those who do not do so.
While in Spain the number of Covid-19 infections continued to rise, while the idea of facing the pandemic like a flu loses strength.
“My recommendation now is the measure; more preventive measures had to be taken when Ómicron appeared and what it is about at the moment is to face the sixth wave without throwing hope that it will end quickly, ”said epidemiologist José Félix Huerta
Spain has already exceeded 90,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic and more than seven and a half million infections.
The day before, the autonomous communities informed the Ministry of Health of 134,942 new cases of Covid-19, of which 79,601 were diagnosed in the last 24 hours.
Reports focused on the Christmas holidays and the end of the year, together with the Parade of the Magi on the night of January 5, have triggered the statistics and, as a consequence, tensions increased in hospital centers larios.
Most experts refuse to give a forecast, although in general they hope that this wave of infections would begin to subside towards the month of February.
WHO highlights that an unprecedented scale of virus transmission is taking place
The lifting of prevention measures and the low vaccination rate in some areas explain the latest rebound, said the WHO representative for Europe. Photo: AP.
The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated this Tuesday that in less than two months (a period of six to eight weeks ) 50% of the European population will have contracted the omicron variant of covid-19, according to the current rate of transmission.
This was announced by the director of WHO-Europe, Hans Kluge, referring to the study of the Institute for Health Metrics and Assessments (IHME), University of Washington.
Kluge highlighted that it is a “highly transmissible” variant and noted that, of the 53 countries under its jurisdiction, 50 have registered cases of omicron, which is already prevalent in Western Europe.
The director of WHO-Europe commented that a “scale of unprecedented transmission, ”which“ is challenging health and service delivery systems in many countries. ” He added that health personnel are the ones most exposed to the disease and bearing “the greatest burden.”
Special care with people at risk
Kluge urged regions where this variant has not yet hit so hard to implement prevention measures and prepare their response systems.
While, according to the WHO, for the most affected countries the priority should be to reduce the damage of the most vulnerable people. For this, he indicated that it is necessary to prioritize the access of these groups to vaccines and booster doses and promote the deployment of tests .
Regarding the reduction of isolation periods, the director of WHO-Europe recommended that it occur if it is complemented with negative tests and “only if it is considered essential to preserve the continuity of critical services” , he pointed.
Germany and Bulgaria with a record of infections in one day
People with masks walk in the Christmas market in the city of Duisburg, Germany. Photo: Ina Fassbender / Gettyimages.ru
The German Institute of Virology Robert Koch registered more than 80,000 new infections in one day, an unprecedented figure in the country.
As the cause of the increase in confirmed cases, the health authorities also name Ómicron, while experts recommend the application of a booster vaccine.
For its part, Bulgaria reported 7 052 new positives to SARS-CoV-2 and an exponential increase in infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants, which today stands at 700.
The day before, the government of that nation, considered the most poor of the European Union, announced that President Rumen Radev, his prime minister, Kiril Petkov, as well as 28 other members of the Government and Parliament are in quarantine until next Tuesday , for being contacts of the President of the Legislature, Nikola Minchev, who tested positive for the virus.
In Turkey, a Eurasian country, the health authorities recorded 74,266 new cases of Covid-19 the day before, while medical experts warned of the risk of saturation in intensive care units. With the figure, that nation accumulates more than 10 million infections since March 2020.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, stated this Wednesday that the situation caused by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is very difficult and it is possible that new outbreaks of Covid-19 will emerge.
During a meeting with members of the Government by videoconference, the president pointed out that the extended New Year holidays made possible a much more intense communication between the people, “and that cannot but affect the epidemiological situation in the country.”
He recalled that at this time the issue of fighting coronavirus is still important, not just in Russia, but around the world , indicated the official website of the presidency.
T fter the report presented by the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Gólikova on the epidemiological situation of the country, the head of state considered that Russia has about two weeks to prepare for a new wave of the pandemic in all regions.
“It is necessary to mobilize all types, both federal and regional, local and sectorial. We have to work with everyone and be prepared for the possible new blow of this virus “, he stressed.
The president called for an increase in the volume of coronavirus tests in the country, as well as the continuation and expansion of the vaccination campaign.
In this regard, he instructed the Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, to immediately take measures to confront the re-outbreak of the disease in all regions of the country. At the same time, called to prepare the hospital network and the pharmaceutical industry .
During the exchange, Gólikova reported that Russia has already detected 698 cases of infection by the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, most in the Moscow region.
Explained that The analysis of the statistics on its spread abroad, as well as the emerging trends of its detection in the outskirts of this capital and in other territories of the country, confirm that Ómicron has a fairly high contagiousness.
The Deputy Prime Minister warned about the probability that the Moscow region will receive the first blow from the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus, so the incidence rates could multiply.
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