The European branch of the World Health Organization estimated on Tuesday that more than 50% of Europeans could be affected by Omicron within two months, because of the current rate of contamination. The “unprecedented” scale of transmission has led to an increase in hospitalizations, but the death rate remains stable, said the director of WHO Europe
Worried about the Omicron “tidal wave”, the European branch of the World Health Organization estimated on Tuesday that more than 50% of Europeans could be affected by Omicron within two months, because of the current rate of contamination.
A variant that “more easily adheres to human cells”
“At this rate, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) predicts that more than 50% of the region’s population will be infected with Omicron within the next six to eight weeks,” said the director of WHO Europe , Hans Kluge, at an online press conference. The mutations presented by this variant “allow it to adhere more easily to human cells, and can infect even people who have been previously infected or vaccinated,” he added.
A stable mortality rate
The region, which has 53 countries and stretches as far as Central Asia, recorded more than 7 million new cases of Covid-19 in the first week of 2022. In addition, according to WHO data, since On January 10, 26 countries reported that more than 1% of their population tested positive for Covid-19 every week. For Hans Kluge, the “unprecedented” scale of transmission has led to an increase in hospitalizations, with the death rate remaining stable.
The wave “challenges health systems and service delivery in many countries where Omicron has spread at high speed, and threatens to spill over into many others,” he lamented.