Omikron rolls over New York: "Practically everyone we know has it" - Germany is also threatened
Created: 12/26/2021, 4:42 PM
From: Astrid Theil
Queuing for the corona test in New York: The situation in the USA has worsened again.
© Craig Ruttle / dpa
In New York, Omikron is already the predominant virus variant that is spreading rapidly.
A look into the metropolis shows what Germany might be threatened with.
New York City - The word "omicron" is on everyone's lips.
The new virus variant of the coronavirus is on the rise and is spreading at high speed.
Omikron is expected to be the predominant virus variant soon.
The Omikron wave has not yet fully reached Germany.
The situation is different in the USA and especially in New York.
What Germany could soon expect is already a reality there.
New York was already badly affected by the first corona wave.
Now the Omikron wave has also reached the metropolis of millions on the east coast of the USA and has caused the number of infections to explode in a very short time.
Omikron in New York: Every twelfth inhabitant is infected
As of Christmas Eve, authorities reported 15,213 new infections in New York City and an incidence of 1,059.7. The seven-day average, in turn, was 14,034 new infections per day. The tendency shown in these values is clear: The incidence of infections is increasing enormously. Just a week earlier, the value was 5085 cases per day. There is therefore a 2.7-fold increase. According to information from the
Worldometer
, 690,000 people in New York City are currently acutely infected with the corona virus. That is every twelfth inhabitant of the city.
The extent of the infection is not only shown in the statistics and the hospitals, but also in social media.
Many New Yorkers report infections in their environment.
“Virtually everyone we know in New York City has Omikron right now, and most are boosted.
They all say the same thing: It's mild, but scary, ”writes screenwriter Nick Andert on Twitter, for example.
This development in New York has made a Christmas party impossible for countless local people.
Omikron wave in New York City: Omikron accounts for 92 percent of new infections
The proportion that the Omikron variant now has in all new infections is particularly alarming. The "Center For Disease Control And Prevention" has reported numbers on this over the past few weeks. In the week of December 4, Omikron's share of new infections was only 2.4 percent. A week later, the proportion was already 25 percent. The last data was published on December 18: At that time, Omikron was already making up 92 percent of new infections.
These data clearly show how quickly the new virus variant is spreading.
Experts in Germany currently expect that Omikron will spread rapidly in January and then also be the predominant variant of the corona virus.
This is one of the reasons why the measures at the last Prime Minister's Conference are criticized as insufficient and too late.
Worrying development: the hospitalization rate among children is increasing rapidly
The United States is currently looking at the sharp rise in the hospitalization rate for children with particular concern.
According to
NBC
, the rate of minors hospitalized after contracting corona has quadrupled since December 5.
Young children under the age of five are particularly hard hit - they make up half of those affected.
However, there is also good news from New York City: The city is apparently currently a long way from the conditions that prevailed in spring 2020.
Up to 800 people died daily from or with Covid-19 in New York at the time.
The metropolis with millions of inhabitants and Germany can be compared well because New York has a similar vaccination rate.
As
reported by
Welt
, about 72 percent of the 8.3 million inhabitants are fully vaccinated.
In Germany it is currently 70.8 percent.
However, more people in New York have already received the first dose.
Experts are certain: Omikron will also become the predominant variant in Germany
The effects of the Omikron wave can also be seen in the New York cityscape: people stand in long queues at the test centers.
Public life largely comes to a standstill again.
Experts are certain that Omikron will also be the predominant variant in Germany.
The only question left is when this will happen.
The RKI has already reported that Omikron cases have been confirmed in all federal states.
Previous studies have clearly shown that Omikron is more contagious than other virus variants.
However, some studies also give hope: According to previous knowledge, Omikron is said to cause a milder course of the disease than other variants.
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