According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor at the White House, South Africa’s COVID-19 Omicron version blazes through at most 15 states and 40 nations. The US may lift its South Africa travel ban.
In fear of the COVID super mutant variant, President Joe Biden closed eight South African states out of the US on Monday. However, travel remains possible to other foreign nations.
Omicron is a variant of Omicron that was originally identified in South Africa. It was discovered later in Europe that there was a confirmed case just one week prior to cases being detected in South Africa.
Antonio Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General) said Wednesday that it is ‘deeply unfair” to isolate a single area, calling the ban “travel apartheid.”
Fauci claimed Sunday, however, that these restrictions were put in place at a time where Omicron cases were exploding and South Africa’s severity was not known.
He stated that US officials have now begun to reevaluate the restrictions.
Fauci stated that the ban was imposed to provide time for us to determine the truth.
“Now, like you stated, we are receiving more and better information regarding cases both in the United States and internationally. We’re studying that every day.”
CNN: Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser, said Sunday that the US has reexamined the South Africa travel ban.
South Africa’s new strain of the virus has caused the largest increase in hospitalizations in South Africa than any other wave. This raises concerns about a second outbreak.
He stated that he was hopeful and they will keep close watch on the situation while they consider whether or not to ban it.
Fauci stated that he and others felt very sorry for the suffering in South Africa, as well as other African nations. “For this reason, we are constantly reevaluating the policy – literally every day – in real-time.”
New variant has been reported in Gauteng, South Africa. This outbreak has caused the largest increase in hospitalizations in any wave. There are concerns about a second outbreak elsewhere.
Doctor Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, advised Americans on Sunday not to panic regarding this variant. However, he said that they must continue to be cautious.
‘I do think it’s a reason for us to not necessarily panic but to be more vigilant and to recognize that the precautions that we have been talking about for the last year or so are all the more important now than ever,’ Murthy told Fox News host Chris Wallace.
“We are confident that all the steps we take to avoid the spread COVID (including wearing masks inside and well-ventilated areas) work.
Gauteng has had over 1000 hospital admissions within the last week. This is quadruple the number recorded two weeks ago. Meanwhile, South Africa saw 1,802 hospitalizations during the week ending Friday, the most recent day data are available.
It appears that the virus is more easily transmissible. Cases have increased from 300 to almost 7000 in the past three weeks to close to 7,000 over a rolling seven-day average.
The latest statistics show that cases rose by an incredible 408 Percent in one week, while the number of deaths increased from 8 to 21 over the same time.
The variant of the cases that were added to this database is unknown.
As people wait to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at Lenasia South Hospital near Johannesburg on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, a hospital worker makes sure they practice social distancing.
Pictured: A South African Airways aircraft is seen parked at Cape Town International Airport, Cape Town, South Africa on December 3, three days after President Joe Biden declared a South Africa travel ban
Fauci claimed that South African officials have indicated Omicron doesn’t appear to lead to more deaths or hospitalizations.
He said, “Thus far, though it’s still too early to make any conclusive statements about it, it doesn’t look like it has a high degree of severity, but we have to be cautious before making any conclusions that it is more severe or causes any serious illness comparable to Delta.”
“But, so far, the signals seem a little encouraging in terms of the severity. But again we’ve got to hold judgement until we get more experienced.’
South Africa’s Saturday death toll was 21. That is 162 percentage more than the last week, when only 8 were reported.
According to the latest statistics, South Africa has 3,020 569 cases and 89,956 deaths.
South Africa’s public health officials and the World Health Organization insisted that the cases were not serious and that the vaccines for the strain should continue to be very effective, even though there isn’t much data.
On Saturday, there were 37 Omicron cases in America, eight of them in New York.
One Minnesotan who was tested positive for Omicron COVID-19 in November after visiting a New York City convention of anime revealed that it had been passed to more than 12 of his fellow attendees.
Unidentified man alerted authorities in his hometown to the possibility of spreading the disease, which affected about 15 friends from the group of 35.
His friends may have been infected with the Omicron variant, which is more easily transmissible than the previous respiratory viruses.
Even though the super-mutant variant was detected in 38 countries worldwide, it has not been linked to any deaths according to WHO.
Omicron was found in an individual who had tested positive for Omicron after attending an anime convention in Manhattan (above).
According to the man, more than 12 of his friends have tested positive for Covid since he attended the convention. The cause of the Covid-positive cases is unknown.
The variant is now found in 16 US states. New cases have been reported in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Officials from Minnesota Department of Health claim that the group assembled at Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Center, Midtown, sometime between November 19-21.
According to the department, approximately half of those who tested positive for the disease were found in the following days. Participants had to be immunized before they could enter the event. However, it’s not clear if anyone in that group was under 12.
The Omicron-positive man was the first to have tested positive in the US for it since its discovery in southern Africa in late December.
Fauci stated December 1, that Omicron COVID-19 was first detected in America.
California’s San Francisco Departments of Public Health confirmed the identity of the victim.
Fauci stated that the person had been returned to South Africa from November 22, and was positive for HIV a week later, on November 29.