The World Health Organization (WHO) has no record so far of any deaths linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. One of its spokesmen in Geneva indicated this Friday.
The new variant was first detected in southern Africa
“I have not seen any information on deaths linked to Omicron,” Christian Lindmeier said at a press conference in Geneva, the AFP agency reported.
But taking into account that many countries increase their tests to try to detect the new variant, “we will surely have more cases. More information and, hopefully not, possibly deceased, “he said.
The new variant, considered worrisome by the WHO, was first detected in southern Africa but since the South African authorities alerted the world of its discovery, on November 24, cases of covid due to Ómicron have been registered in some 30 countries in all continents.
Among them are infections linked to travel to southern Africa, but also cases of local transmission.
The WHO considers that the probability that Omicron will spread throughout the world is “high” although there are many unknowns about the real danger and transmissibility of this variant.
Biden to announce expanded obligation to wear face masks on airplanes
Meanwhile, the health concern is such that several countries around the world have tightened their health restrictions. For example, the United States announced a winter campaign against the virus on Thursday, with new testing requirements for travelers and increased vaccination efforts.
The measures include a requirement that all incoming international travelers undergo a test one day before flying. This will apply to all travelers, both US and foreign, regardless of their vaccination status.
For domestic travelers, Biden will announce the extension of the requirement to wear masks on airplanes, trains and other forms of public transportation until mid-March.
The rumor that emerged in the last hours has ceased to be so to become a reality. The Ómicron Variant has already arrived in Mexico because the first case in the country was confirmed. Through a bulletin, the General Directorate of Epidemiology through the Institute for Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) released the news together with the details of the news.
FIRST CASE OF OMICRON IN MEXICO
Case details
The patient is a 51-year-old person of South African origin. He arrived in our country on November 21 and, six days later, he presented symptoms characteristic of mild COVID-19. He received medical attention at a private hospital in Mexico City on November 29. The antigen test and RT-PCR were positive. During his evaluation in the emergency room, he was stable with saturation of 95%. He is in voluntary preventive isolation.
On November 30, the sample was received at InDRE, where it began its analysis with the new protocol established on November 26.
Preliminary results are positive for the N2 gene, and it is observed that the sample shows failure in the Gen S target: negative for the S gene, positive for the ORFab gene and positive for the N gene), characteristics of the omicron variant.
Related Notes:
Mexico updates surveillance protocols to search for Omicron variant cases
What we know about the new variant that has set off the alarms
The NU variant could very soon be classified as “concern”