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'Tsunami' of COVID-19 cases around world raises testing and quarantine fears

Middle East

29-12-2021 | 12:14

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'Tsunami' of COVID-19 cases around world raises testing and quarantine fears

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Global COVID-19 infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, Reuters data showed on Wednesday, as the Omicron variant raced out of control, keeping workers at home and overwhelming testing centers.

Almost 900,000 cases were detected on average each day around the world between Dec. 22 and 28, with myriad countries posting new all-time highs in the previous 24 hours, including the United States, Australia and many in Europe.

Almost two years after China first alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) to a cluster of "viral pneumonia" cases of unknown origin in the city of Wuhan, the regularly mutating coronavirus is still wreaking havoc, forcing numerous governments to rethink quarantine and test rules.

Although studies have suggested Omicron is less deadly than some previous variants, the huge numbers of people testing positive mean that hospitals in some countries might soon be overwhelmed, while businesses might struggle to carry on because of workers having to quarantine.

"Delta and Omicron are now twin threats driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalization and deaths," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Tedros told a news briefing.

"I am highly concerned that Omicron, being highly transmissible and spreading at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases."

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