“The risk of infection on the plane increased 2-3 times”
IATA’s medical advisor says that the risk of transmission increases 2-3 times, both on the plane and in other closed environments such as buses or supermarkets. At WHO, Omicron says vaccination and testing must be accelerated “before it turns into a crisis”. US President Biden is sending free tests to homes, governments are starting to buy treatment pills.
Many health experts around the world are making important warnings so that health systems are not suppressed again, as Omicron is more contagious and can escape the protection of vaccines. In many countries such as the UK and the US, the Omicron became the dominant variant both from Delta and in a much shorter time than expected. Germany, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Korea are among the countries that are restoring social distancing restrictions, along with partial or full quarantines. While travel restrictions have been announced in Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore, more than half a million people are under quarantine in China, which maintains its zero-case policy. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that even though civil aviation still hasn’t returned to its 2019 capacities in 2021, “the risk of contamination on the plane has increased 2-3 times.” David Powell, the most authoritative medical consultant of IATA, which represents about 300 airline companies around the world, announced that the risk of being infected with the Omicron variant on airplanes has increased 2-3 times, according to the news in Bloomberg.
“Fly business, don’t eat at the same time”
Powell also shared his advice that choosing a business class flight may be safer than the more cramped economy cabin. Powell states that passengers should avoid face-to-face contact in the cabins, be careful about their contact with surfaces, and it will be safer for people sitting next to each other not to eat at the same time (remove their masks). It is safer not to remove the mask at all on short flights. In addition, the detection of Omicron even in people who do not have contact with anyone in quarantine hotels in some Asian countries makes it critical for individuals to take measures such as masks and social distance. Powell states that the issue is not just about airplanes, but that the risk of contracting Omicron in the supermarket or on the bus increases at the same rate.
WHO: We see a new storm coming
WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Kluge, at a press conference in Vienna, said, “We see a new storm coming. “Within weeks, Omicron will become the dominant variant in many countries in the region and could bring already tired health systems closer to collapse again.” Kluge stated that the variant has already become the dominant variant in England, Denmark and Portugal. Data indicate that the number of new cases in Europe, which reached 2.6 million last week, is 40 percent higher than last year’s December period when harsh quarantines were implemented. Kluge also points out that in the European region, the variant is most prevalent among young people in their 20s and 30s.
“Get vaccinated before the Omicron turns into a crisis”
Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, also called on governments and individuals to take precautions against the Omicron variant and said, “If possible, get vaccinated. “Right now we can prevent Omicron from becoming a global crisis.” Many leaders, including US President Joe Biden and British President Boris Johnson, have called on their citizens to get their third dose of vaccines in recent days. Authorities repeatedly inform both those who have never been vaccinated and those who have been vaccinated for 2 doses, that the vaccines provide protection.
“It doubles every 2-3 days”
The Omicron variant, which was detected for the first time in a patient in South Africa on November 8, in the last week of November, became the dominant variant in many countries, including England, Denmark, Ireland and the USA, in a very short time because it is much more contagious than previous variants. came. Anthony Fauci Omicron, who is the COVID-19 advisor to the White House in the USA, states that the number of cases doubles every 2-3 days. Almost 100 percent of new cases in South Africa are Omicron, and in the USA all cases are expected to be Omicron within the next week or two. Although field data from South Africa, Denmark and the UK indicate that Omicron is not as lethal as Delta, the gap between countries’ vaccination rates and the fact that hospitals are starting to fill up in many countries makes it difficult to make precise predictions about the course.
Biden is sending free tests to homes
After the rapid spread of Omicron, US President Joe Biden set out to increase the country’s testing capacity and supplied 1.5 billion free home PCR tests. These tests will be ordered and delivered to homes free of charge. Reminding the citizens once again that the test and vaccine are free in his speech the previous evening, Biden once again called out to the families who did not have their children vaccinated, and said that almost all of the serious patients and deaths in hospitals were unvaccinated. In order to encourage citizens to vaccinate in New York, a $100 incentive bonus was started to be given to those who are vaccinated in some regions. In Israel, the government is preparing to start the 4th dose.
