World Health Organization warns of tsunami of new coronavirus strains

Tedros Adhanom warned that the Delta and Omicron strains circulating simultaneously could lead to a tsunami of cases, which he expressed concern would push medical staff and health systems to the brink of collapse.

Tedros Adhanom, the director-general of the World Health Organization, stressed in a press conference that he is deeply concerned that the more contagious Omicron strain, which is circulating at the same time as the Delta strain of the coronavirus, will cause a tsunami of new cases of COVID-19.

Adhanom added at the meeting on Wednesday, December 29, that this situation is putting even more pressure on medical staff and collapsing health systems.

The Omicron strain of coronavirus, first identified in South Africa last month, has become the dominant strain in some countries within weeks, driving an unprecedented increase in new cases of COVID-19.

Catherine Smallwood from the World Health Organization's European office told AFP that the spread of the Omicron strain is expected to cause a sharp increase in hospitalizations in European countries.

Doubling of infected people in two to three days

The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people infected with the Omicron strain could double in two to three days, leading to a sharp increase in infections and hospitalizations.

According to this report, in the week ending December 29 (January 8), an average of 935,000 new cases were recorded worldwide per day, an increase of 37% compared to the previous week and the highest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic.

Omicron has become the dominant strain in the United States, with an average of 265,000 new daily cases over the past week.

New records of infections in Europe

Cases are also rising sharply in some European countries, including Britain, France, Denmark and Portugal. France reported 208,000 new cases on Wednesday, the second consecutive day of record highs since the start of the pandemic.

In Britain, 183,000 new cases of coronavirus were identified in one day, the highest number recorded in the country until Wednesday.

Despite the worrying trend of recent days, the World Health Organization is cautiously optimistic about the pandemic situation in the new year.

Cautious optimism

Mike Ryan, an epidemiologist and the organization's senior crisis manager, believes that the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic will likely end in 2022. At the same time, he emphasized that this will not mean the complete disappearance of the coronavirus.

In his press conference, Tedros Adhanom once again emphasized the importance of universal vaccination, saying that it is crucial that by mid-2022, at least 70% of the population in all countries is vaccinated to prevent COVID-19.

The World Health Organization director called on wealthy countries to not only think about their own citizens and cooperate with the campaign for fair vaccine distribution.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, before the Christmas holidays, in half of the organization's 194 member countries, the vaccination rate of citizens was less than 40 percent, and in 40 countries, it was less than 10 percent.

Source: DW