Corona current
Omicron outbreak after 2G-Plus Christmas party
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A major corona outbreak occurred after a Christmas party in Oslo. All guests were vaccinated and tested – the first Omicron cases have now been reported among them.
The omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading in Europe. An incident in Oslo now shows how contagious the mutation is likely to be: After a Christmas party, more than half of all guests tested positive for Corona.
As reported by several media, the Christmas dinner is said to have been a pure 2G-Plus event. That means: All participants were vaccinated and had also done a Corona self-test before the celebration. None of them are said to have experienced symptoms. Nevertheless, according to the Tagesschau as of Friday, at least 60 of the 120 guests were infected with the corona virus. The PCR test was positive for them, four other visitors: inside reported positive antigen tests.
Corona outbreak is said to be due to the Omikron variant
As the authorities in Oslo announced, there was suspicion that the outbreak was due to the Omikron variant, as one of the guests had recently returned from South Africa. This has already been partially confirmed. So far, 13 of the positive cases have been identified as omicrons. Further sequencing of the virus is expected to continue.
It could be the largest omicron outbreak outside of South Africa to date, the Tagesschau reports. So far, no precise information is known about the risk posed by the variant, it is currently being investigated by the World Health Organization. Above all, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control should fear a so-called immune escape through the omicron mutation. That would mean that the virus would go virtually unnoticed by the immune system. What influence this possibility would have on the effectiveness of the current vaccination is still uncertain. Virologist Christian Drosten has so far been confident that the corona vaccination should also have basic protection against the new variant, as reported by ZDF. This is even better with boosted people. Manufacturer Biontech is currently already working on testing vaccination protection in relation to the Omikron variant.
Sources used: Tagesschau, RKI, ECDC, ZDF