Ómicron: The countries where the new variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed

New countries countries reported this Friday of cases of local transmission of the omicron variant of coronavirus, although WHO said it had “no information” on any deaths.

The Russian statistics agency Rosstat reported that 74,893 deaths related to the covid-19 virus were recorded in October, the deadliest month in the country since the pandemic began, bringing the total to 520,000 deaths.

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More than a week after South Africa will announce the detection of this new variant, whose characteristics are still unknown but which is causing a wave of panic throughout the world, the list of affected countries and the number of cases is growing without stopping.

, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

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A total of ten cases have been confirmed in the United States, two of which corresponded to patients who had not traveled abroad, which indicates that the transmissions are now also local.

An Indian health worker collects a swab sample from a passenger who arrived from Bangalore on a train for coronavirus testing following the detection of the omicron variant. (EFE / EPA / IDREES MOHAMMED).

Australia announced its first three cases in Sydney on Friday, despite a ban on foreigners entering the country and flight restrictions to southern Africa.

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Spain has also detected its first local case, a vaccinated 62-year-old man who had not traveled anywhere.

Tunisia and Mexico announced their first cases on Friday and the Mexican Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, took the opportunity to denounce that the closing of borders is not a useful measure to contain the variants.

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The appearance of this variant is “the definitive proof” of the danger of inequalities, the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, told AFP, who recalled the threat to see “very new variants in places where the vaccination rate is very low.”

Many unknowns

Although the new variant appears to be highly contagious, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), Christian Lindmeier, said Friday that he had not received “No reports of omicron-related deaths”.

As more countries test for the new variant, “we will have more cases, more information and – although I hope not – possibly deaths,” he said.

An illustration image taken in London on December 2, 2021 shows a vial with the Covid-19 vaccine label attached, along with syringes and a screen showing the word omicron, the name of the new variant of the coronavirus. (Justin TALLIS / AFP).

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Total, and the variant is now widespread in all six regions of the WHOsaid the WHO technical manager for covid-19, Mary Van Kerkhove, during the same press conference.

The WHO It has already considered it “likely” that the variant will spread throughout the world, especially since a South African study found that the risk of contracting COVID-19 again is three times higher with omicron than with beta and delta variants.

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On South Africa, the new variant is already prevalent and health authorities have reported an increase in infections in children, although it is not yet known whether it is related to omicron.

New restrictions in Germany

Since the emergence of the dominant and already highly contagious delta, a variant of Covid-19 hadn’t caused as much panic.

Announcements of drastic measures and travel restrictions are increasing around the world.

On GermanyOutgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Thursday that she will tighten restrictions on unvaccinated people, who will be practically confined and will have to limit their contacts.

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A draft law on compulsory vaccination will be submitted to the German Parliament for entry into force in February or March, as in Austria, which has once again confined its population, and in Greece, which has shortened the deadline for the third dose. In France, nine cases of omicron have been confirmed.

On the other hand, Switzerland will abolish the mandatory quarantine of entry into the country for vaccinated people on Saturday, but will tighten the testing requirements.

In Asia, a day after Singapore announced two cases, neighboring Malaysia and Sri Lanka reported their first cases on Friday, each involving travelers returning from Africa.

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For the time being, the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that vaccination coverage and inadequate detection levels, especially in Africa, are “a perfect recipe for variants to reproduce and amplify.”

Several companies, including Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer / BioNTech, and Novavax, have expressed confidence in its ability to create an omicron vaccine.

Russia is also working on a version of its Sputnik V aimed specifically at this variant.

Covid-19 has killed at least 5,233,111 people worldwide and infected nearly 265 million people since the end of 2019, according to an AFP tally.

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