Covid-19: WHO alerts once again to the "very high" risk of the Omicron variant

In its weekly epidemiological bulletin, the WHO warns of the "very high risk" of the Omicron variant, while many countries such as France, the United Kingdom and Portugal are recording contamination records.

"Reliable evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling rate of two to three days," the report points out.

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Result ?

"A rapid rise in Omicron, like the one we are seeing in several countries, even if it were combined with a slightly less serious illness, will still lead to a large number of hospitalizations, especially among the unvaccinated", adds Catherine. Smallwood, one of the main officials of WHO Europe.

Omicron less risky?

According to her, this is why we must take the preliminary data on a lower risk of hospitalization "with caution" because for the time being the cases observed mainly concern "young and healthy populations in countries with high rates of vaccination.

"

And this while the American health authorities have just warned that antigenic screening tests for Covid-19, which have the advantage of delivering a result in just a few minutes, are less sensitive to the Omicron variant than to previous variants.

They are therefore more likely to report a negative result despite an infection.

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In this context, several countries which record contamination records have implemented new restrictions.

China, which records a record number of contaminations within 40 days of the Beijing Winter Olympics, has confined tens of thousands of additional people.

The city of Xi'an (north) has been subject since Tuesday to a sixth day of strict quarantine after a limited epidemic rebound.

Restrictions are on the rise

For its part, Sweden requires a negative Covid test from all travelers arriving in the territory.

Finland has decided to go further by allowing entry into its territory only to foreign travelers with a negative Covid-19 test and who can prove a complete vaccination or a past infection.

South Africa, which announced last week the end of the tracing of contact cases of people tested positive for Covid-19, reversed this decision.

In Germany, in a new battery of measures that came into force on Tuesday, private meetings of more than ten people (even vaccinated or cured) are prohibited.

For the unvaccinated, the limit drops to two members of different outbreaks.

In addition, all sporting competitions will be held behind closed doors, which should concern the German championship when it resumes on January 7.

In France, the measures concerning the vaccination pass, teleworking or even gauges are also known.

Before the end of the week, new isolation rules for patients and their contacts will also be set by the government.