According to one count, the world has seen a record number of COVID-19 infections in a single week. Daily infections have also reached new heights in several European countries, including the United States and Australia, due to the rapid spread Omicron variant.
According to the tally released by the AFP news agency Wednesday, more than 935,000 cases were detected on average each day between December 22-28. Over the last week, 6.51 Million coronavirus cases were reported around the world.
These latest figures, which are the highest since the beginning of 2019 when cases were first reported, are based upon daily data provided by health authorities in each country.
As it mutates, the coronavirus is causing havoc in many areas of the globe. This has forced governments to reconsider quarantine and testing rules.
Although Omicron is thought to be less dangerous than other strains, some studies suggest that it could cause a major crisis in hospitals. Businesses may also find it difficult to continue operating due to workers being quarantined.
“Delta & Omicron are twin threats driving up case numbers to record levels, leading to spikes of hospitalisations and deaths,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organization, stated in a Wednesday news briefing.
Omicron is highly transmissible, spreading at the same rate as Delta and leading to a tsunami in cases,” said “I am very concerned about Omicron.”
French Health Minister Olivier Veran stated Wednesday that France was experiencing a “dizzying rise” in cases. 208,000 were reported within 24 hours, a national record and a European record.
Britain, Cyprus and Greece registered record numbers for new cases on Tuesday.
The United Kingdom has seen a record number children being admitted to hospitals.
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, stated Wednesday that 90% of patients who end up in intensive care have not had booster vaccines. This is according to medics as the best protection against Omicron.
He warned that those who haven’t been vaccinated are eight times more likely “to get into hospital”
According to a Reuters news agency tally, Wednesday’s record number of COVID-19 daily cases in the US was 258,312 for the past seven days. In January this year, the previous peak was 250,141.
On Wednesday, Australia’s new daily infections soared to almost 18,300. This surpasses the previous high of 11,300 that was recorded a day earlier.
Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, stated that his country required “a gear change” in order to manage overburdened laboratories. There were long queues for both drive-in and walk-in patients across a variety of states.
In Europe, testing bottlenecks are also growing, especially in Spain, where demand for COVID-19 test kits from Madrid’s regional government has outstripped supply. On Tuesday, long lines formed outside pharmacies.
“I just want to go home”
Many governments became more concerned by the large number of people who were forced to live in isolation after being in contact with COVID-19 patients.
Morrison, from Australia, stated that it was impossible to take everyone out of circulation just because they happen to be in a certain place at a specific time.
It was expected that Italy would relax its quarantine rules Wednesday due to fears of a shortage of workers. This is despite the fact that many people have to self-isolate to protect themselves. Cases increased by a third on Tuesday, from 78,313.
China did not ease its zero tolerance policy to epidemics. 13 million people were kept in Xi’an for seven days as COVID-19 new infections continued.
A 32-year old mechanic said, “I just want home.” He was visiting Xi’an for a business trip last week when the city was closed to the outside world.
Xi’an has not yet reported any Omicron cases.
Many countries still struggle with the older Delta variant of the pandemic. Poland was one of those that reported 794 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, the highest number since the fourth wave.
Waldemar Kraska, Deputy Health Minister, stated that more than 75% of the people who died were not vaccinated.
In South Africa, however, infections are down in the last few days.
However, infections rates are rising in other African countries, says Catherine Soi of Al Jazeera, reporting from Nairobi, Kenya.
Soi stated that there has been an increase in the incidence of infection in many African countries.
She said that although the government doesn’t distinguish between the variants, it is difficult at this point to determine how many infections Omicron causes.
In its latest epidemiological report, released overnight, the WHO stated that early data from the UK and South Africa suggests there is a lower risk of Omicron patients being admitted to hospital than the Delta variant.
The report stated that further data is needed to determine how vaccinations and prior infections may affect the severity of illness.
This coincides with the New Year holiday, which is a time of travel and parties. Italy and Japan have both cancelled public celebrations while Japan’s authorities urged people to keep their end-of-the-year gatherings small.
“The greatest risk is to meet people without taking appropriate measures to prevent infection,” stated Norio Ohmagari (director of the Disease Control and Prevention Center and top-ranking health advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government).
