Omicron, so far so good

As cases and infections surge, hospital admissions do not UK, 24th December Omicron hospital patients, 366 Total omicron deaths, 29 UK, 27th December Omicron hospital patients, 407 Total omicron deaths, 39 Omicron cases + 45,307 = 159,932 UK data https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-omicron-daily-overview https://covid.joinzoe.com/data#levels-over-time https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk In hospital patients, UK In hospital patients, London A testing site, Upper West Side of Manhattan Sunday 4pm local time They are getting a 50% hit rate Hit rate has doubled each of the past three days Michael Very mild symptom sets, not even as bad as a normal cold for me, and it seemed to be the same for everyone on line. I tested positive and I was surprised, given how mild the symptoms are. Slightly blocked feeling, feeling of being a little ill for one day, slight headache, no cough or runny nose. This surprised me because I havebeen practicing extreme isolation. I live alone (by choice), and only visited the supermarket during off hours, twice in the past 7-10 days. Amazing that I got this. I started with 4000 IU of D per day about three or four weeks ago. And 15 mcg daily of zinc. Who knows this may explain the mild symptom set. US cases and deaths data https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailycases Isolation down to 5 days is asymptomatic https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html Followed by 5 days mask wearing One to two days before day one, then 2 to 3 days after this Dr. Rochelle Walensky The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society. CDC’s updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses. These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives. Prevention is our best option: get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather. US hospitalizations https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#hospitalizations US, Health and Human Services https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-utilization SA data SA hospital data https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/disease-index-covid-19/surveillance-reports/daily-hospital-surveillance-datcov-report/ https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/south-africa/ Australia https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/case-numbers-and-statistics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZeJVfcobhc REVISION TO CONTACT TRACING, QUARANTINE AND ISOLATION PROTOCOLS: 23.12.2021 https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2021/12/24/circular-revision-to-contact-tracing-quarantine-and-isolation-protocols-23-12-2021/ Proportion of people with some immunity from infection and/or vaccination is high, Past infection in 60-80% in several sero-surveys Containment strategies are no longer appropriate – mitigation is the only viable strategy New knowledge about the virus High proportion of asymptomatic disease High degree of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread Aerosol spread Only a small proportion of cases are diagnosed Testing Testing skewed towards symptomatic (minority) Not all symptomatic people test Not all negative tests are true negatives Quarantine has been costly Thus, the following is applicable with immediate effect: All contact tracing be stopped with immediate effect, except in congregate settings and cluster outbreak situations or self-contained All contacts must continue with their normal duties with heightened monitoring (daily temperature testing, symptom screening) of any early signs. If they develop symptoms then they should be tested and be managed according to the