On Friday, the World Health Organization attributed the outbreak of the “Omicron” mutant to a group of factors, including mutations that carry it and increased social mixing.
“People should reduce their exposure to the virus and try to control its transmission, after a week during which record injuries were recorded,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the technical team in the Emergency Diseases Unit of the World Health Organization.
“Omicron spreads very quickly among people for several reasons, the first of which is the mutations carried by the mutant that allow it to attach to human cells more easily. And secondly, there is the so-called immune escape. This means that the infection can recur … in those who have been previously infected and from They were vaccinated.”
And the health official added that “there is another reason is that we are witnessing a proliferation of omicron in the upper respiratory tract, and it differs in this from delta and other mutant.”
But in addition to these factors, the spread of the virus is also driven by the increased mixing of people and spending more time in closed places in the winter season in the northern hemisphere, and the failure to adhere to preventive measures such as physical distancing.
And the World Health Organization reported about 9.5 million new cases of corona last week, which is a record number, an increase of 71% over the previous week.
And Maria Van Kerkhove added, “To the general public, what you should care about is just reduce your exposure to the virus, we want people to understand and feel that they have some ability to control the infection.”
And she stressed, “Avoiding prolonged symptoms is sufficient reason to try to avoid catching the virus.”