Kathmandu, December 9. The World Health Organization on Friday announced that the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading at the highest rate in Africa.

A preliminary report of an ongoing study has indicated that 10 countries in Africa account for 46 per cent of the global cases of Omicron. However, hospital occupancy in Africa shows that the strain may be less severe than its predecessor, the Delta variant.

South Africa, which has been suffering the peak from November 14 through December 4, has an average ICU occupancy of only 6.3 per cent. This percentage value is very low when compared to the country’s peak Delta suffering that was recorded in July.

WHO’s Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in an official statement, “With Omicron now present in nearly 60 countries globally, travel bans that mainly target African countries are hard to justify … We call for science-based public health measures to counter the spread of COVID-19”

Travel restrictions are “blunt measures” to prevent Omicron

Earlier last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus released a travel advice statement, urging countries to take rational risk-reduction measures in keeping with the International Health Regulations.

“The blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods … these blunt measures can adversely impact global health efforts during a pandemic by disincentivizing countries to report and share epidemiological and sequencing data,” Ghebreyesus said. Read Full Story…

Low Vaccine and testing – a breeding ground for Coronavirus

Earlier this month, experts in WHO announced that low vaccine coverage and low testing rates together serve as a “toxic” platform for mutations and multiplication of novel coronavirus. 

WHO also urged countries across the globe to immediately inoculate their people with adequate doses of available vaccines and relaunch existing measures to fight against the old ‘Delta’ variant as well as the new ‘Omicron’ variant.