The Omikron variant is on the rise. How dangerous is it for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered? All news here in the ticker.
- The omicron variant * of the coronavirus is spreading more and more.
- Now there is evidence that calls into question the 2G rule (Update from December 6th, 10:22 p.m.).
- According to US expert Fauci, Omikron is probably no more dangerous than Delta (see update from December 7th, 5:24 p.m.).
- This news ticker is updated regularly.
Update from December 7th, 5:21 pm: How dangerous is the Omicron variant really? There is currently no secured data on this. Nevertheless, US expert Anthony Fauci is now almost committed: “It is almost certain that it is not worse than Delta,” he told the news agency on Tuesday AFP. Accordingly, there are even indications that Omikron could even be less serious.
Update from December 7th, 12:53 p.m.: “Omikron is in sight and on the rise, and we are rightly concerned and cautious,” said WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge on Tuesday. The current problem, however, is the delta variant that continues to dominate. “How we are successful today against Delta is a victory over Omikron tomorrow.” You have to take action against all variants at once in order to stabilize the pandemic.
One in ten Europeans will have a proven corona infection behind them – by the end of this week. These are the latest figures from the WHO European Office. The number of new infections would have more than doubled in the last two months. It is increasing in all age groups, but is currently the highest among five to 14-year-olds.
The number of deaths would have more than doubled in the period. At the same time, it remains well below previous highs, stressed the WHO. Without the vaccinations, the mortality would have been significantly worse. The WHO counts 53 countries in the Europe region, including not only the EU but also countries further east such as Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
Expert: Omikron dominated in Great Britain within weeks
Update from December 7th, 11:42 am: “I’m pretty sure it will likely become dominant in a matter of weeks”: Jeffrey Barrett warns Omikron is likely to gain the upper hand in the UK soon. You can now say that the Corona variant is spreading faster in the country than Delta, the expert from the Wellcome Sanger Institute told the BBC radio station on Tuesday.
Corona in Germany: Omikron case at a primary school in North Rhine-Westphalia
Update from December 7th, 9.30 a.m .: It is still unclear how dangerous the new Omikron variant actually is. The number of cases discovered is also rising steadily in Germany. Now there is apparently a confirmed infection at a primary school in Düsseldorf. Again WDR reports, a primary school child is said to be infected with the new Corona variant. However, the infection has not yet been officially confirmed to the public. The child has not been to school for a long time, like him WDR reported that the entire school learned distance lessons in the past week.
Accordingly, the school management decided to take the step after a total of 28 corona cases had occurred at the school. Again WDR citing the headmistress reported that after this step there was considerable resistance from some parents. These had pushed for face-to-face teaching. As of this week, classes should actually take place in person again.
Update from December 7th, 6:49 a.m.: Since 5 a.m. this Tuesday morning, travelers to Great Britain have only come into the country with a negative corona test. The regulation applies to all people from the age of twelve. The PCR or antigen test must not be older than 48 hours.
This is intended to slow the spread of the Omikron variant, said the British Ministry of Health. The government had previously requested a PCR test on arrival. A quarantine obligation applies until the result is negative.
Boris Johnson wants to wait with Omikron with contact restrictions
Critics had described the travel restrictions as ineffective, as Omikron is already circulating in the UK. Domestic contact restrictions are more important, they demanded. But the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has so far refused to accept this. “We’re still waiting to see how dangerous it is, what effect it has on deaths and hospital admissions,” Johnson said Monday.
New Omicron infections in those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated? New data from South Africa calls into question 2G
Update from December 6th, 10:22 p.m .: “We are recording an infection rate that we have not seen since the beginning of the epidemic,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday. The newly discovered Omicron variant appeared to be on the rise, he warned, adding: “I call on all South Africans to get vaccinated immediately”.
According to the latest information, the number of cases of infection has quintupled within a week to around 16,000 last Friday. Around a quarter of the corona tests in South Africa are now positive – two weeks ago it was only two percent.
Most infections are in the Gauteng province, which also includes the capital Pretoria and the economic metropolis Johannesburg. The first omicron cases were discovered in Gauteng in November.
New Omicron infections in those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated? New data from South Africa calls into question 2G
First report from December 6th: Munich – In Germany, the 2G rule currently applies in many places. The new Omikron variant of the coronavirus * could pose a risk despite this precautionary measure. Because: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a corona infection that has been overcome does not protect against infection with the new omicron variant. “We think that a previous infection does not protect against Omikron,” said infectiologist Anne von Gottberg of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Thursday (December 2nd) at a press conference of the WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Omicron variant: can the vaccination prevent or only weaken infections?
The scientist said the question will be explored further. However, initial observations suggest that people who have already been infected by Omikron could contract Covid-19 again. Then the symptoms were apparently often less severe. According to von Gottberg, the existing corona vaccines should continue to protect against serious diseases. How effective the vaccines actually are against the new variant is not yet conclusively clear.
The head of the US vaccine manufacturer Moderna *, Stéphane Bancel, expressed himself pessimistically at the end of November: He assumed a “considerable decrease” in the protective effect, he said Financial Times. After all, 32 of the 50 mutations in Omikron concern the spike protein with which the coronavirus penetrates cells.
Assessment by Biontech founder Sahin: How effective is the vaccination against the Omikron variant?
Biontech co-founder Ugur Sahin * does not rule out that Omikron could cause more infections in vaccinated people. It is very likely that the current vaccinations continued to protect against severe disease. “Our message is: don’t panic, the plan stays the same. Speed up the administration of the third dose. “
Laboratory tests should provide further information about Omikron, the results of which should be available in two to three weeks. A lesser effect of the existing vaccines against Omikron does not mean that they have no effect at all, emphasize specialist circles. “All people who get vaccinated do not start from scratch when they encounter a new variant,” said the President of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, at the end of November. Meanwhile, some German federal states are examining the exception to the 2G-Plus rule for booster-vaccinated people.
According to WHO information, the Omikron variant has now been detected in more than 20 countries, including Germany. India reported the first two Omicron cases on Thursday. In the southern state of Karnataka, two men aged 66 and 46 had tested positive for the Corona variant *, said a representative from the Ministry of Health. Now all of her first and second degree contacts would also be tested. (AFP / lb) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
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