The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned a Covid variant-driven tsunami is likely to overwhelm global healthcare systems, as the number of cases surged across the world in the past week to never seen before levels, reported The BBC.
“I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of collapse.”
Omicron, which was first detected in Southern Africa, has already become dominant in several countries.
The WHO chief said the twin threats of Delta and Omicron variants are driving up the number of positive cases to record numbers, leading to a sudden increase in deaths and hospitalization rates.
The number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide hiked by 11% last week as compared to the previous week, with nearly 4.99 million newly reported from Dec. 20-26, according to WHO’s figures.
Tedros said the pressure on health systems was not only due to new coronavirus patients, but also large numbers of health care workers getting infected with COVID-19. He warned that the unvaccinated are at a greater risk of dying from either variant.
The WHO chief reiterated the call for countries to share vaccines more equitably and warned that the emphasis on booster vaccine shots in wealthier nations could leave poorer nations short of jabs.
He said countries must strive to meet the WHO’s target of 70% vaccine coverage by the middle of 2022, which would help end the acute phase of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, the WHO’s emergencies chief Mike Ryan said the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic could end next year but the coronavirus will not disappear.
Ryan also said it was too early to draw conclusions on the severity of the Omicron variant because it was so far circulating largely among younger and less vulnerable age groups.
