A whopping 1.06 lakh new cases of Coronavirus were detected on Wednesday in the United Kingdom.
In an unprecedented rise of Coronavirus spread, the United Kingdom reported more than one lakh new cases on Wednesday. This is the first time the number of cases has crossed this level since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. A whopping 1.06 lakh new cases of Coronavirus were detected on Wednesday. Among the worst-hit countries by the new Omicron variant is the United Kingdom which has confirmed 50000 cases linked to the Omicron variant so far.
Most Coronavirus cases in Europe region
As per the data from the World Health Organization (WHO), seven of the ten worst affected countries in the world are European with the highest number of cases in the last week. The other three countries outside the European continent which are affected badly are the United States, South Africa and Vietnam. In addition to the United Kingdom, Spain has also seen its highest-ever single day count of a whopping 50000 new cases recently. The French government has also said that it fears that the country will report more than a lakh cases per day due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
New vaccines
Israel, which is reporting a surge in Coronavirus cases recently, has decided to inoculate its health workers and older population with the fourth dose of Coronavirus vaccine. Pharma giant AstraZeneca has said that it has commenced work on developing a vaccine to tackle the Omicron variant of Coronavirus. The pharma company said that in collaboration with Oxford University, it has decided to develop an Omicron-specific Coronavirus vaccine.
Is the Delta variant still dominant?
While it is true that the surge in the Coronavirus cases is being fuelled by the Omicron variant, the WHO has said that of the total cases of Coronavirus being reported around the world most cases are traceable to the Delta variant which is still dominant. The WHO said that out of over 10.5 lakh genome sequences done between the last two months around the world, about 96 percent of the cases were traced to the Delta variant and only 4 percent were traced to the Omicron variant.
Overall risk of Omicron variant “very high”
The WHO, in no uncertain terms, has acknowledged that as per the new evidence Omicron variant has been found to have a growth advantage over the Delta variant and the risk emanating from the Omicron variant remains “very high.” So far as the severity of the disease caused by the Omicron variant is concerned, the WHO said that the hospitalisation in South Africa and the United Kingdom is rising and there are chances of the healthcare infrastructure system getting overwhelmed.
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