Tour screw on the front of the health crisis in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new measures to fight the coronavirus on Wednesday, December 8, at a press conference. To cope with the epidemic rebound and stem the spread of the Omicron variant, the government has asked the British to stay home to work from Monday, and has also implemented the vaccine passport in some places.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that Omicron is spreading much faster than the previous Delta variant”, with 568 cases identified so far in the UK, and an actual figure “certainly much higher”, said Boris Johnson at a press conference.
The number of Omicron cases “doubles every two to three days”
Noting that the number of cases due to Omicron seemed to double every two or three days in the country, and without prejudging the severity of the symptoms caused by the variant, the conservative leader stressed that “this exponential growth could lead to a sharp rise hospitalizations and therefore, unfortunately, deaths ”. “This is why moving to plan B” restrictions in England is “the proportionate and reasonable thing to do, time to speed up the vaccine booster campaign,” he added.
Several European countries have already implemented drastic measures to fight the epidemic and prevent the Omicron variant from wreaking havoc. Italy in particular has closed the door to most major events and public places (cinemas, concerts, sporting events, etc.) to non-vaccinated people, and now also requires the health pass to take public transport.
Like the United Kingdom, Denmark has opted for a return to teleworking, but also for reduced nightlife and the closure of schools. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke of an “extended vacation”, with some school days cut off before the first official day of vacation, and after the return to school in early 2022.
Pfizer vaccine “still effective” with booster
Omicron appears to have a higher reinfection rate, but cause less severe symptoms, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday, while Pfizer and BioNTech laboratories assured that their vaccine against Covid-19 was “still effective” after three doses against this variant.
“Preliminary data from South Africa suggests a higher risk of reinfection” of people cured of the disease or vaccinated “higher with Omicron, but more data is needed to draw firmer conclusions,” said the boss of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There is also some evidence to suggest that Omicron causes less severe symptoms than Delta – currently the most common variant, but again it is too early to be certain,” he added. Pfizer and BioNTech for their part insisted on the effectiveness of their current vaccine against the variant Omnicron.
