Day: December 8, 2021

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New omicron variant detected in 57 countries: WHO

The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 57 countries so far, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

“Even if the severity is equal or potentially even lower than for delta variant, it is expected that hospitalizations will increase if more people become infected and that there will be a time lag between an increase in the incidence of cases and an increase in the incidence of deaths,” the WHO said in its weekly epidemiological report.

The report said more data is needed to assess whether the omicron variant may result in reduced protection from vaccines.

“Vaccine effectiveness studies are vital to understand how vaccines protect against infection, symptomatic and severe disease, and death,” it added.

Omicron is the fifth SARS-CoV-2 variant designated as a Variant of Concern by WHO, following the alpha, beta, gamma and delta variants.

Omicron variant first identified on Nov. 9

WHO said the first known laboratory-confirmed case of omicron was identified from a specimen collected on Nov. 9 in South Africa, with the variant first reported on Nov. 24.

Globally, weekly case incidence plateaued in the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, with over 4 million confirmed new cases.

“New weekly deaths increased by 10% as compared to the previous week, with over 52,500 new deaths reported,” said WHO, noting that the over 5.2 million deaths have been reported globally from the coronavirus.

The European region covering 53 nations reported the highest weekly case incidence per 100,000 population with 288.0 new cases per 100,000 population, and the Region of the Americas with 91.4 new cases per 100,000 population followed.

Both regions also reported the highest weekly incidence in deaths of 3.1 per 100,000 population for Europe and 1.3 for the Americas.

The highest numbers of reported new deaths continued from Russia, with 8,523 new fatalities or 5.8 new deaths per 100,000. Ukraine with 3,163 further deaths and Poland with 2,636 recent fatalities followed.

In South Africa, WHO said the number of reported COVID-19 cases doubled the week before Dec. 5 to more than 62,000.

In South Africa’s neighboring countries of Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Lesotho, there were “very large” incidences in COVID-19.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Oil down as uncertainties over new variant trigger investor caution

Oil prices declined over investor caution from uncertainties about the COVID-19 variant omicron, although an estimated drop in US crude inventories should limit further price slumps.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $75.10 per barrel at 0639 GMT for a 0.45% decrease after closing the previous session at $75.44 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $71.64 per barrel at the same time for a 0.56% fall after the previous closed at $72.05 a barrel.

Since the omicron variant emerged two weeks ago, oil prices have come under demand pressure. However, the severity of the new variant is still unclear.

US President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci had said on Monday that “it doesn’t look like there’s a great degree of severity to it”.

Despite reports from South Africa, where the new variant originated, suggesting omicron cases in the region only show mild symptoms, some governments have already taken mitigation measures to stop the spread of the virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday that omicron has spread to 50 countries and 19 US states.

“While we are still working to understand the severity of omicron as well as how it responds to therapeutics and vaccines, we anticipate that all of the same measures will at least, in part, provide some protection against omicron,” Walensky said during a White House news conference.

-Fall in US crude stocks to limit further price decreases

Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) announced its estimate of a fall of 3.08 million barrels in US gasoline inventories, exceeding the market expectation of a rise of 2.09 million barrels.

The forecast of such a large inventory draw signals a recovery in crude demand in the US, easing investor concerns over dwindling demand, which, in turn, supports higher prices.

Source: Anadolu Agency