London-Sana
The rapid spread of the omicron mutant from the emerging coronavirus (Covid 19) during the holiday period is placing renewed pressure on health care systems in Europe, with large numbers of medical personnel infected and subject to isolation.
"Omicron means more patients and fewer staff to treat," Reuters quoted Stephen Boyce, medical director of the British National Health Service, as saying in a statement.
Healthcare networks in Spain, Britain, Italy and elsewhere found themselves in very difficult conditions, although initial studies showed a lower risk of serious illness or hospitalization due to Omicron compared to its predecessor, delta.
In the United States, hospitals postponed surgeries to allow doctors to work and provide beds, while in Spain the health care network came under so much pressure that on the penultimate day of last year, authorities allowed in the northeastern region of Aragon to return retired health care workers to work.
Last Friday, Britain began deploying members of the army to support hospitals, which suffer from a shortage of workers and are under severe pressure due to record cases of infection in the country.
Dutch hospitals are studying changing quarantine rules to allow infected crews without symptoms to return to work. In Italy, the problem of injuries among medical staff, which numbered more than 12,800 injuries, according to data collected last week, is excluding unvaccinated staff members, who represent four percent of workers.
The world is witnessing record increases in infections with the Corona virus, in light of the spread of the new Omicron strain that was monitored in South Africa.
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