Omicron, global exposure

Cases of omicron doubling every 2 to 3 days in UK Sajid Javid, Community transmission of Omicron https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59553460 Multiple regions of England with no links to international travel 21 Omicron cases in England linked to travel from Nigeria Cases + 90 = 336 confirmed No hospital admissions Could not guarantee omicron would not knock us off our road to recovery Incubation period may be shorter So a person will become infectious sooner Omicron to become dominant in the next few weeks UK response 10,000 vaccinators were being recruited 450 military Pre-departure tests Red lists Masks in shops and public transport Omicron case contacts required to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of vaccine status UK Health Security Agency, 500,000 tests per day Dominic Raab https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/59559623 Plan B. not required because of success of the vaccination programme. Government is taking, targeted and proportionate approach Denmark https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/world/europe/britain-denmark-omicron-cases.html Omicron, 183 confirmed on Sunday Triple the Friday estimate Henrik Ullum, Danish Statens Serum Institut The time we gain, we must use to get as many people vaccinated as possible And the shots will be aspirated (JC) Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director Covid-19 genomics initiative, Wellcome Sanger Institute Omicron spreading faster than Delta UK's dominant variant within a matter of weeks It is too early to make this assumption (on severity) If only a small proportion of people get seriously ill with Omicron, a small faction of a really big number can still cause problems Prof Paul Hunter New variant could be spreading faster than the currently dominant Delta variant, would probably start to overtake Delta within the next few weeks Prof Tim Spector UK omicron, probably at least 1,000 to 2,000 New variant can only be picked up by 30-40% of PCR tests Symptoms from Omicron appear at the moment more similar to a cold, rather than the classic Covid symptoms of a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss of sense of taste or smell This means many cases may be missed Omicron cases are expected to double around every two days Anthony Fauci on omicron https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-us-expert-fauci-cautiously-optimistic-over-omicron-reports/a-60029060 Thus far, it does not look like there's a great degree of severity to the omicron variant But we have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn't cause any severe illness, comparable to delta Mayor Bill de Blasio (NY) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59552524 All New Yorkers will need to be vaccinated if they want to go to work Public sector employers already Mandate will now be extended to all private sector employees From 27th December, 184,000 businesses Omicron (10 cases so far) Holiday gatherings Cold weather Should be assumed, already community spread in New York Already mandating Morgan Stanley, Blackrock and Goldman Sachs, McDonald's, Walgreens, Walmart President Cyril Ramaphosa, SA We are experiencing a rate of infections that we have not seen since the pandemic started Argentina First case on Sunday Also Brazil, Mexico, Chile Russia First confirmed cases on Monday Ten people tested positive returning from SA Two had omicron variant Asia Thailand, Nepal, first cases on Monday India Up to 21 cases