The world has been alarmed over a new strain of COVID-19 which is named B.1.1.529 or known mononymously as the Omicron variant. The director of South Africa’s communicable disease institute believes that this new variant could displace the Delta variant, the variant that caused the recent spikes of cases all around the world.
Although the variant is still under research, it is believed that it will be more transmissible than the Delta variant which will lead to another wave of high charted numbers of infections.
The Omicron variant is flagged as a high risk variant that could cause reinfection surges around the world if it continues to spread.
The strain originated in South Africa and is hypothesized to produce mild symptoms such as dry cough, fever, and night sweats based on treated South Africans who have been infected by the Omicron variant.
There are recorded cases of increased infection of influenza in the last month but researchers are still taking a deep look into this to see if these cases can be linked to the Omicron variant.
Based on the data, if the Delta variant peaked at 26,000 cases per day when it struck, the Omicron variant is expected to infect up to 10,000 people from the recently recorded 2,270 cases there this week.
Health authorities believe that it is “too early to tell” if this variant can displace Delta but since cases are rising rapidly in the most populated province of South Africa, it is seen as a sign or a warning that the Omicron variant will reign the COVID-19 infections.
Because of the threat of the Omicron variant, multiple countries have made safety measures in order to prevent the spread of the new strain inside their country. These countries imposed travel restrictions from South Africa in order to lessen the risk of infection caused by travelers carrying the virus.
Will we see another spike of cases? Is the variant really outcompeting Delta? As the world is on edge right now, the best solution that we have right now is to prepare ourselves for the worst as this variant is still under research yet is believed to be more infectious than the past variants.
SOURCE:
INQUIRER.NET
Published by: Aliyah Margareth C. Imbat
Date Published: December 3, 2021
Time Published: 4:43 PM
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