WHO Europe warns countries to prepare for “significant increase” in COVID-19 cases, while the World Health Organization has approved the Novavax vaccine against COVID-19 for emergency use.
The Omicron variant is now dominant internationally, with an absolute record of cases.
The head of the World Health Organization's Europe division today warned countries to prepare for a “significant increase” in COVID-19 cases as Omicron spreads, noting that so far the variation is mainly among young adults.
Since its emergence in late November, Omicron has been located in at least 38 of the 53 countries belonging to the European section of the WHO. “It has already prevailed in many of them, such as Denmark, Portugal and the United Kingdom,” Hans Kluge told a news conference in Vienna.
“We see another storm coming. “In a few weeks, Omicron will prevail in more countries in the region, pushing the already pressed health systems to the brink,” he stressed.
The European part includes, inter alia, Russia, other former Soviet republics and Turkey.
World Health Organisation
The World Health Organization today approved the vaccine of the American company Novavax against coronavirus, with a more classic, different technology from the vaccines that are already widely used in the European Union.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the release of the Nuvaxovid vaccine yesterday, Monday.
In an announcement, the WHO said it was the tenth COVID vaccine to be licensed for emergency use.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Muraska said today during a government meeting that re-vaccination is needed six months after the completion of the full coronavirus vaccination to strengthen the body's defense.
Muraska said more than 70 million Russians had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 76 million had received at least one dose, while nearly 10 million Russians had received the booster dose after being fully vaccinated. Russia's population exceeds 144 million.
In addition, experts from the Russian Consumer Health Regulatory Authority (Rospotrebnadzor) have recorded about 300 people who came in contact with patients with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and all of them are in isolation under medical supervision, said the head of the authority. Anna Popova.
She said four of them, who underwent a molecular test, tested positive for the coronavirus.
She announced that the first 16 patients from the Omicron variant have recovered and were discharged from the hospitals where they were treated.
Less than a month after its first detection in the country, the Omicron variant is now prevalent in Denmark among the new cases of Covid-19 that today reached a record number since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Danish Communicable Disease Control Authority (SSI) “considers Omicron to be the dominant variant and is on the rise,” Health Minister Magnus Henike said on Twitter.
“We are witnessing an evolution of the epidemic, with an absolute record of infections today,” he stressed.
In the Nordic country of 5.8 million people, 13,558 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, an unprecedented number in the country. More than 500 of these cases are re-infections, according to health authorities.
The Consultative Committee in Belgium is meeting tomorrow, considering additional restrictions due to the spread of the “Omicron” mutation.
According to Belgian media, the following proposals are on the table: The restaurant should close at 20.00 instead of 23.00, return to the “bubble” and the specific number per guest per household, 100% teleworking, cancellation of all events over 200 people, closing of catering if the situation worsens in relation to the “Omicron” variant, closure of unnecessary companies and professions that have contact with the public, purchases with a maximum number of customers per store.
The Portuguese authorities decided today to close the nightclubs and bars and advised the citizens to work from home from December 26 until at least January 9, in order to control the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday season.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa also announced that a negative coronavirus test would be mandatory for hotel stays in the country and said authorities would limit outdoor gatherings to 10 people per group on New Year's Eve.
Sweden will ask all workers to work from home if possible, and will impose stricter measures on social alienation, the government announced today as it raises restrictions aimed at curbing the rise in new COVID-19 infections. .
The number of new cases in Sweden, which caught the world's attention last year by choosing not to impose a strict quarantine, has risen in recent weeks after a calm autumn, when most restrictions were phased out.
Although hospitalizations and the number of patients in need of intensive care remain among the lowest per capita in Europe, they are also beginning to increase.
Meanwhile, new forecasts from the Public Health Organization on how the pandemic will develop have shown that the rate of new infections will continue to rise in the coming weeks and will peak in January.
