A record 15 million new Covid-19 infections were reported across the globe in a single week as omicron rapidly replaces delta as the dominant variant across the globe, and “we know this is an underestimate,” World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday.

Maria Van Kerkhove (WHO’s technical leader on Covid-19) stated that “the sheer number of cases is putting an burden on the health-care system.” Even though the severity of omicron is lower than that of delta, people are still admitted to hospital. People are still being admitted to ICU, and require advanced medical care. People are still dying from it.”

According to ACDC, the U.S. had the highest number of cases, with an estimated 4.6 million cases reported from Monday through Sunday. This is a 73% jump over the previous week and a global 55% increase. the WHO’s weekly epidemiology report published Tuesday.

Tedros said that hospitalizations do not rise as much as in past surges. Perhaps this is due to lower severity of omicron than delta as well as widespread immunity from vaccinations and prior infections. Tedros noted that although the death rates are still high (around 48,000 per week), they have not changed much from October.

Van Kerkhove explained that “we’re seeing delta out-compete omicron in many populations.” Delta cases reached a similar peak in just a few short months. However, the number of cases was not as large and it did not take over the world as fast as omicron. She stated, “This case is unstoppable.”

Nearly 59% of the more than 350,000 cases that were sequenced within the past 30 days contained omicrons, according to the WHO’s epidemiological report. WHO, the United Nations Health Organization, warned that some data could not accurately show how widespread omicron spreads due to delays in reporting or sequencing limitations in certain countries.

The report states that omicron takes a faster time to double than the other variants. This means it is able to multiply cases in fewer days and can also evade prior immunity more easily, giving it an advantage over the other variants.

Van Kerkhove stated that delta followed a similar path at its peak, although it never reached the same levels of omicron.

However, she stressed, that the future direction of Omicron could still be affected by world actions such as vaccinations or taking measures to limit spread.

She stated that there is no way to predict the spread of this virus or how it will circulate. “We can control the spread of this virus with some degree of control using tools such as masks, ventilation and distancing. We also have the ability to avoid crowds.

Van Kerkhove stated that the WHO believes that the virus will evolve and become stronger and more severe over time. There will also continue to be epidemics among unvaccinated people. Additionally, as populations change, other viruses may sometimes emerge at the same moment as Covid.

Van Kerkhove declared that “the virus is on the verge of becoming endemic.” “But we’

We are not yet there.”

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