| © News1 Designer Kim Chohee |
The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) ‘Omicron mutation’ has raised the number of new confirmed cases around the world to an all-time high with its overwhelming transmission power. It has been more than a month since its existence was first known to the international community on the 24th of last month.
According to Worldometer, an international statistics site, the average number of daily confirmed cases worldwide for the past 7 days as of the 26th was 829,768. The number of omicron mutations increased by 47.2% compared to the number on the 24th (563813 cases) first reported in South Africa.
At the end of April, when there were 300,000 to 400,000 confirmed cases per day in India, the daily number of confirmed cases around the world was 800,000.
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| A graph of the number of daily confirmed cases worldwide from January 22, 2020 to December 26, 2021. <출처=월드오미터> |
However, it is different then and now. This time, the epicenter is Europe, not India, and it quickly established itself as a dominant species in the United States.
The number of deaths is also low. Compared to the average daily death toll for a week in January, when there was a winter pandemic, and in April, when there was a pandemic from India, the figure on the 26th was 6449, less than half that. Almost half of the world seems to be thanks to the second dose of the vaccine.
◇Omicron devastated Europe, dark Christmas holidays
Europe had a gloomy Christmas. In the UK, one month after the report of the infected with the Omicron mutation, the infected with the Omicron mutation accounted for 90% of the confirmed cases in England.
In the past three days, 312,036 new cases have been reported across the UK. On the day of Christmas, 113,628 cases were reported and the next day, 108,893 cases were reported.
Nordic countries, such as Denmark and Iceland, have recorded the highest daily number of confirmed cases since the introduction of the Omicron mutation. The two countries had the lowest infection rates in Europe before the introduction of the omicron mutation.
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| A passenger wearing a mask sits on a bus in London, England. © AFP=News1 |
Greece also decided to strengthen quarantine measures again by restricting the business of nightlife establishments and making it mandatory to wear indoor masks, as it recorded the highest number of confirmed cases since counting due to Omicron mutation.
In France, the number of confirmed cases per day surpassed 100,000 on the 25th, breaking a new high since the pandemic. In the end, the French government will implement strong quarantine measures, such as making it mandatory to work from home at least three times a week from next week.
◇ The US also has an Omicron craze… Highest number of new cases in each state
The US was not spared from Omicron’s rampage. In some states, including New York, the average weekly number of new cases reached a new high since the pandemic.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 27th (local time), the average number of new confirmed cases in the United States for 7 days exceeded 197,000 as of the 24th, before the Christmas holiday. This is a 65% increase over the past two weeks. The seven-day average death toll also increased by 3% to 1,345.
In particular, New York, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico recorded the highest average number of new cases since the pandemic on the 7th.
Although the number of hospitalizations is not increasing as the number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing, it cannot be denied that the medical system is in danger of increasing burden. The number of hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 is also increasing significantly, and about 71,000 are currently hospitalized. This is an 8% increase from the previous week.
In the midst of this, CNN predicted that the increase in the number of confirmed cases will become even stronger after the Christmas holiday. CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner even predicted that “over the next one to ten days, there could be 500,000 confirmed cases a day.”
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| People gather in front of a facility distributing COVID-19 self-test kits in Brooklyn, New York, on the 24th. © AFP=News1 |
Reuters reported that Australia’s economic reopening is also being disrupted by the spread of omicron mutations. Australia reported 10,269 new cases on the 28th, breaking the record for the highest number of confirmed cases every day.
As the number of confirmed cases surged despite more than 90% of the population aged 16 and over being vaccinated, Australian state authorities have re-mandatory masks and reintroduced previous quarantine measures, such as QR code check-ins in public places.
While the number of confirmed cases in each country is rapidly increasing, some point out that we should not be vigilant just because the Omicron mutation has a lower hospitalization rate and mortality rate compared to the existing virus.
“(Omicron mutation) is extremely contagious,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the U.S. quarantine commander. can be neutralized,” he said.
pasta@news1.kr
