WHO Warns of Tsunami of New COVID-19 Variants

Tedros Adhanom warned that the Delta and Omicron variants circulating simultaneously are leading to a tsunami of infection cases. He expressed concern that this tsunami is pushing healthcare workers and health systems to the brink of collapse.

Tedros Adhanom, director of the World Health Organization, emphasized in a press conference that he is deeply concerned that the more transmissible Omicron variant, circulating simultaneously with the Delta variant of coronavirus, could cause a tsunami of new COVID-19 cases.

Adhanom stated on Wednesday, December 29, that this situation is putting additional pressure on already collapsing healthcare workers and health systems.

The Omicron variant of coronavirus, first identified in South Africa last month, has become the dominant strain in some countries within a few weeks and has increased new COVID-19 cases at an unprecedented rate.

Catherine Smallwood from the European office of the World Health Organization told the French news agency that the spread of the Omicron variant is expected to cause a sharp increase in hospital admissions in European countries.

Cases to Double in Two to Three Days

The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people infected with the Omicron variant could double within two to three days, which will result in a sharp increase in cases and hospitalizations.

According to this report, in the week ending December 29 (December 8 on the Persian calendar), an average of 935,000 new cases were registered daily worldwide, representing a 37 percent increase compared to the previous week and the highest number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

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

New Case Records in Europe

Cases of coronavirus are increasing sharply in some European countries, including Britain, France, Denmark, and Portugal. On Wednesday, 208,000 new cases were identified in France, marking the second consecutive day of the highest numbers since the start of the pandemic.

In Britain, 183,000 new coronavirus cases were identified in a single day, the highest figure recorded in the country up to Wednesday.

Despite the concerning trends in recent days, the World Health Organization has cautious optimism about the pandemic situation in the new calendar year.

Cautious Optimism

Mike Ryan, an epidemiologist and senior crisis manager at the organization, believes the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic could end in 2022. However, he emphasized that this does not mean the complete eradication of the coronavirus.

Tedros Adhanom reiterated in his press conference the importance of mass vaccination and said it is crucial that at least 70 percent of the population in all countries be vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-2022.

The WHO director called on wealthy countries not to think only of their own citizens and to cooperate with a campaign for equitable vaccine distribution.

According to World Health Organization statistics, before the Christmas holiday, more than half of the 194 member countries had vaccination rates below 40 percent of their populations, and 40 countries had rates below 10 percent.

Source: DW