• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, October 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Omicron Spreading in Africa But Data Suggests ‘Less Severe’: WHO

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
12/09/21
in World
covid variants

"Emerging data from South Africa indicates that Omicron may cause less severe illness," the WHO said. Photo: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Cases of coronavirus in Africa nearly doubled over a week as Omicron spread, but hospitalizations in South Africa, where the new variant was discovered, remain low, the UN said Thursday.

In a weekly online press briefing, the World Health Organization‘s Africa branch said the continent had recorded 107,000 extra cases in the week to Sunday, compared with 55,000 in the previous week.

Omicron “is reaching more countries in Africa,” it said, adding that research was being stepped up to see whether the new variant was specifically behind the sharp rise.

The biggest surge in numbers — 140 percent on average — was in the south of the continent.

However, in South Africa, which discovered the new variant last month, “severe cases remain low,” the WHO said in a statement.

“Emerging data from South Africa indicates that Omicron may cause less severe illness,” it said.

“Data which looked at hospitalizations across South Africa between November 14 and December 4 found that ICU (intensive care unit) occupancy was only 6.3 percent.

“(This) is very low compared with the same period when the country was facing the peak linked to the Delta variant in July.”

The agency reiterated its objections to travel restrictions, which it said had been issued by more than 70 countries and were overwhelmingly aimed at southern Africa, even though countries in the region had been “transparent with their data.”

It also called on countries to step up vaccinations — only 7.8 percent of the continent’s roughly 1.2 billion people have been jabbed.

The biggest laggards in immunization are Chad, Djibouti and Democratic Republic of Congo.

A new vaccine supply system is being set in place to help African countries distribute them more easily, said Richard Mihigo, WHO Africa’s vaccination program coordinator.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Desmond Tutu commemoration
World

World Mourns Anti-Apartheid Icon Tutu, ‘Warrior for Justice’

by Staff Writer
December 27, 2021
US Senator Joe Manchin
Business

Asian Markets Drop on Omicron Spike, Biden Spending Bill Blow

by Staff Writer
December 20, 2021
Covid-19
World

EU Health Agency Says Time Too Short for ‘Vaccination Alone’ to Halt Omicron

by Staff Writer
December 15, 2021
South Africa vaccine
World

Thousands March to Demand Vaccine Jabs in South Africa

by Staff Writer
June 25, 2021
A health care worker conducting tests for COVID-19 in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
World

One in Two S. Africans Infected by Covid: Study and Estimates

by Staff Writer
February 18, 2021
The Toxic Cocktail That Fuels South Africa’s Xenophobia
Featured

The Toxic Cocktail That Fuels South Africa’s Xenophobia

by Staff Writer
October 3, 2019
Next Post
US Supreme Court abortion

US Supreme Court Allows Abortion Providers to Challenge Texas Law

Afghanistan

World Bank Says Donors Approve Release of $280 Mn for Afghanistan

Recommended

Health care workers in Richmond, Texas. Photo: AFP

US Healthcare Industry Top Target of Cyber Attacks: Report

September 29, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Air France flights

Niger Bans French Aircraft From Its Airspace: Aviation Authority 

September 25, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

September 22, 2023
Man holding up a colored LGBT flag

France Sets Up Embassy Fund to Defend LGBTQ Rights

September 19, 2023
US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

September 19, 2023

Opinion

Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
‘Deaths of Despair:’ Why Are US Suicides on the Rise?

An Inspired Choice to Lead the CDC

June 13, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.

Florida Man Channels Benito Mussolini

June 13, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post