COVID Omicron Variant proves “highly transmissible”

By Jjunju Francis

29^th Dec 2021

Health experts have warned that the risk posed by Omicron “remains very high” and populations must remain vigilant.

World Health Organisation WHO, Studies suggest that Omicron is milder than the previously dominant Delta variant, but fears remain that the sheer number of cases stemming from the highly infectious Omicron could overwhelm hospitals.

Uganda like any other Country is also experiencing increased numbers of infection and according to the Ministry of Health a record number of 1,272 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed from tests done on 27 December 2021.

This brings the cumulative confirmed cases to 137,270. It is not yet clear whether the new cases are of the latest Covid-19 variant Omicron.

1,252 Alerts And Contacts;  Kampala has got (741), Wakiso (226), Mbale (40), Jinja (30), Gulu (37), Mbarara (31), Rakai (15), Soroti (13), Kabale and Busia (22) among others.

There were also 20 Truck drivers; 14 of them got from Kyotera , 3 from  Kampala, 2 from Tororo and One from Ntungamo.

The number are causing anxiety as the country is dying for full opening of the economy that is expected from the President’s national address possibly by Friday this week before Ugandans are ushered into the new year 2022.

Elsewhere, the US and several European countries have reported their highest daily rises in Covid cases since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant spreads.

More than 440,000 new cases were recorded in the US on Monday, according to the health officials.

France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and England have also reported record numbers of daily infections.

Poland has today recorded 794 Covid-related deaths, the highest number in its fourth wave of the pandemic, with more than three-quarters of the victims unvaccinated.

In the US, cases recorded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rose by 441,278 on 27 December – by far the highest number of daily cases ever reported to the agency.

According to a report published by the WHO on Tuesday, the number of new Covid infections of all variants grew by 57% in Europe in the week before 26 December, and by 30% in the Americas.

On Tuesday, France reported 179,807 new infections, Europe’s highest ever number of daily cases, French Health Minister Olivier Véran has said warning that “everything suggests” France could see as many as 250,000 daily cases by the start of January.