In an unprecedented jump in cases Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MoH) reported on Tuesday 2,079 new cases, taking the total cases in the country since the start of the pandemic to 326,164. The ministry also reported one death in 24 hours.
Despite the concern over the rise in infections, Dr Zakariya al Balushi, Infectious Disease Consultant at Royal Hospital, SAID Omicron is less dangerous and fatal than the previous mutant. “The current scientific evidence gives an optimistic view, even though it is still fraught with caution, especially that coronavirus, which carried surprises in the past two years. The Omicron mutant has the property of rapid spread and is considered fast compared to the Delta mutant.”
Dr Al Balushi added that this is an initial look and may change over time. “The world is witnessing unprecedented numbers of daily infections, yet the rate of inpatients and deaths is lower than before, and most of the hospitalised patients are unvaccinated. Deaths reached less than 1 per cent globally for the first time since the start of the pandemic,” he explained.
“Trials in animals from South Korea showed that the virus is multiplying a little slowly and very weak inside lung cells. Four similar researches in Liverpool, Belgium, Japan and Cambridge, proved the same results. So the percentage of lung infections is low. On the ground, epidemiological data from South Africa and then reports from various countries of the world such as European countries and America confirm the same conclusion”.
Meanwhile, the government continued its vaccination campaign for residents and citizens. According to statistics from the ministry, the number of people fully vaccinated reached 2,958,643 or 81 per cent of the population. The doses administered stood at 6,504,926.
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