The Omicron variant will cause “a large number of hospitalizations” of COVID-19 patients, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday amid new restrictions in several countries, including Finland, which is closing its borders to unvaccinated foreigners.
“A rapid rise in Omicron, like the one we are seeing in several countries, even if combined with slightly less severe illness, would still lead to a large number of hospitalizations, especially among the unvaccinated,” said to AFP Catherine Smallwood, one of the main officials of WHO Europe.
The specialist called for taking preliminary data on a lower risk of hospitalization “with caution”, because for the time being, the cases observed mainly concern “young and healthy populations in countries with high vaccination rates” .
As of December 31, President Joe Biden lifted the ban on entry into the United States of travelers from eight countries in southern Africa, the region where this variant appeared, now present throughout the world.
According to some experts, a higher contagiousness of the variant could counterbalance the advantage of a less dangerousness, while many countries are announcing numbers of infections not seen since the start of the pandemic.
Tuesday, France, Greece and Portugal – where Omicron is dominant – in turn recorded a record number of daily infections, respectively more than 180,000, more than 21,000 and more than 17,000 additional infections in 24 hours.
Omicron also now dominates infections in the Netherlands, where authorities have also warned the population of “an increase in the number of hospital admissions”, and in Switzerland.
Experts are uncertain whether Omicron’s seemingly lower severity stems from the variant’s intrinsic characteristics or whether it strikes populations already partially immune to the vaccine or a previous infection.
New containment in China
Faced with these uncertainties, several countries have imposed new restrictions. China, which has recorded a record number of contaminations within 40 days of the Beijing Winter Olympics, confined tens of thousands of additional people on Tuesday.
The city of Xian (north), famous for the buried army of the first emperor of China, was subject to a sixth day of strict quarantine on Tuesday, after a limited epidemic rebound.
300 km away, tens of thousands of residents in a district of Yanan City were in turn ordered to stay at home, and businesses to shut down.
China on Tuesday reported 209 new patients in 24 hours, the highest number in 21 months.
Sweden has since Tuesday required a negative COVID test from all travelers arriving in the territory. Finland has decided to go further: to be allowed to enter its territory, foreign travelers must have a negative COVID-19 test and prove a complete vaccination or past infection.
A spokesperson for the border guards confirmed to AFP that unvaccinated foreigners would be turned away, except those who belong to one of the exempted categories (residents of Finland, essential workers, diplomats, etc.).
In France, new isolation rules for patients and their contacts will be set by the government “by the end of the week,” Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Monday.
In Germany, a new battery of measures entered into force on Tuesday. Private meetings of more than ten people – even vaccinated or cured – are prohibited. For the unvaccinated, the limit drops to two members of different outbreaks.
All sports competitions will take place behind closed doors. Discos and clubs will also close their doors on December 31 to prevent the spread of the virus.
In a judgment published on Tuesday, the German Constitutional Court ordered the state to take legislative measures to protect access to intensive care for people with disabilities in the event of medical “sorting”.
In Belgium, the Council of State, the highest administrative body, on Tuesday suspended the recent government decision to close theaters and performance halls. He estimated that the authorities had not demonstrated how these cultural establishments “would be particularly dangerous places for the health and life of people as they would promote the spread of the coronavirus, to the point that it is necessary to order its closure ”.
In the Gulf region, where countries are also recording an increase in infections, Qatar’s main public hospital group has suspended leave for all its staff working with COVID-19 patients.