1/9 - “Less than two months after forecasting “a long period of tranquility” for Europe in the pandemic, the WHO’s regional chief warned that much of the continent was in the grip of a fresh #COVID19 surge after “brutally” sweeping away restrictions.”
https://t.co/z83WAOOss4
2/9 - “The rapid spread of a highly infectious version of the #Omicron coronavirus variant, known as BA.2. The strain has taken hold as people stop wearing masks and socialise more, prompting a jump in infections in at least 18 European countries, according to the WHO.”
3/9 - “Experts predict North America will be hit by a similar resurgence within weeks, with some warning that sluggish vaccination and booster uptake among older groups in the US could leave it exposed to a bigger wave of hospitalisations than its European peers.”
4/9 - “Despite the upswing in infections, European countries have persisted in dropping restrictions. The way the UK and the rest of Europe is choosing to treat this is that it’s no longer about cases, it’s about hospitalisations and deaths.”
5/9 - “Hospitalisations have ticked up in countries whose BA.2 waves are most advanced, but the share of cases requiring hospital admission remains much lower than with pre-Omicron variants such as Delta.”
6/9 - “This reduction in rates of severe disease is partly due to high levels of immunity across the western world through vaccination and previous infection, along with the sub-variant’s intrinsically lower virulence.”
7/9 - “France’s decision to lift mask mandates last week everywhere but health facilities and public transport was a mistake. The country was not in a calm period of the pandemic with infections running at 100K/day and the 7-day incidence rate up sharply to 928 per 100K people.”
8/9 - “The WHO’s Kluge said on Tuesday that he was “optimistic but vigilant” about the trajectory of #COVID19 in Europe. The hope of many experts is that summer will offer a respite from the high infection rates since Omicron first emerged late last year.”
9/9 - “However, concerns about the rapid spread of BA.2 are growing among health experts in the US, where federal and state authorities are lifting #COVID19 restrictions and vaccination rates lag behind many European countries.”