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Updated December 29th, 2021 at 09:53 IST

WHO warns Omicron may lead to overwhelming hospitalisations, disruption to health services

As the spike in infections from Omicron sparked widespread concerns, WHO on Tuesday warned that the new variant could lead to overwhelming healthcare systems.

Reported by: Dipaneeta Das
WHO
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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As the world is witnessing a huge spike in infections from the new COVID-19 strain Omicron particularly in Europe and the US, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday warned that the new variant could lead to overwhelming healthcare systems. Speaking to The Guardian, WHO Europe COVID incident manager, Catherine Smallwood informed that even though preliminary findings suggested that Omicron could render milder infections, it would still result in a large number of hospitalisations. It is to mention that the warning comes as London on Tuesday recorded a 53% rise in hospital admissions.

"A rapid growth of Omicron... Even if combined with slightly milder disease, will still result in a large number of hospitalizations, particularly among unvaccinated groups and cause widespread destruction to health systems and other critical services," said Catherine Smallwood, WHO Europe COVID incident manager, as quoted by The Guardian.

Similar concerns were also raised by US President Joe Biden on Monday. Speaking at a virtual meeting with National Governors Association, he noted that American hospitals could be "overrun" by COVID-19 patients as the fast-spreading Omicron variant comprised nearly 73% of all new infections in the country. Such warnings come as a number of infections see a daily rising graph due to large pockets of unvaccinated citizens and lack of quick and easy testing.

Nations step up measures to curb spread of Omicron

Facing high infection rates, France on Monday ordered new measures ahead of the New Year weekend to curb the spread of the virus. The country last week topped the 1,00,000 threshold in COVID infections for the first time since the outbreak began in late 2019. French PM Jean Castex ordered companies to allow three-day work from home for employees, further adding limitations on public and private gatherings. China on Tuesday also pushed hundreds of thousands into strict lockdown as it's Xi'an province recorded 800 cases since December 8. Greece on Tuesday also recorded 21,657 cases in a single day, with health authorities linking those to rise in Omicron.

In addition, Britain has been the worst hit with the total death toll, since the inception of the pandemic, reaching 1,50,000. It is worth mentioning that beyond the social strife, the pandemic has levied a heavy impact on the travel sector with some 11,500 flights cancelled during one of the busiest tourism periods. Meanwhile, in a positive development, South Africa, where the immune-evasive, fast-spreading Omicron variant was first reported on November 24, has seen a 29% drop in the incidence of cases, the WHO reported.

(Image: AP)

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Published December 29th, 2021 at 09:53 IST

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