The World Health Organization warned today that the global COVID-19 variant Omicron infection cases have surged, raising the risk of new and more dangerous variants.
Although Omicron is spreading around the world like wildfire, it seems to be far less serious than it was worried about at the time, and it has raised the world’s hope that this pandemic will eventually be overcome and life will return to normal.
However, Catherine Smallwood, head of COVID events in the WHO European region, warned that the surge in infection rates might have a negative impact. She pointed out in an interview that the more Omicron spreads, the more infections, the more replications, and the more likely it to produce new mutant strains. Now, Omicron is fatal, it will cause death, maybe slightly less serious than Delta, but who knows what kind of mutant strains may appear next.
WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also stated in a media briefing that although Omicron seems to be less severe than Delta, especially for people who have been vaccinated, it should not be classified as mild. He warned of the outbreak of the tsunami, because under the double attack of Omicron and Delta, the global infection cases have soared to new highs, and the health care system is overwhelmed. It is difficult for governments to contain the COVID-19 virus, which has killed more than 5.8 million people.
The Italian Ministry of Health today notified 219,441 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, a record high and much higher than yesterday’s 189,109 cases. The number of deaths dropped from 231 yesterday to 198.
