Omicron, So Far
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/publica…
https://covid.joinzoe.com/data#levels…
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-trac…
Isolation down to 5 days is asymptomatic
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/20…
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-trac…
US, Health and Human Services
https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/…
SA data
SA hospital data
https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-i…
https://www.worldometers.info/coronav…
Australia
https://www.health.gov.au/health-aler…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZeJV…
REVISION TO CONTACT TRACING, QUARANTINE AND ISOLATION PROTOCOLS: 23.12.2021
https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2021/12/2…
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 severity of the symptoms
All contacts must not be tested unless if they develop symptoms
Quarantining for contacts of confirmed cases of Covid -19
All quarantine is to be stopped with immediate effect
This applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated contacts
No testing for Covid -19 is required irrespective of the risk exposure unless the contact becomes symptomatic
Isolation
Asymptomatic Individuals
No isolation period required
Self-observation for 5-7 days,
Mild disease
Fever, cough, sore throat, malaise, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of taste and smell.
Isolation period is maintained at 8
There is no need for Covid-19 test (either PCR or antigen test) be performed prior to returning to work
Severe disease
Exacerbated symptoms, shortness of breath, dyspnoea, chest pain, abnormal chest imaging, require hospitalisation
Credit to : Dr. John Campbell