As Omicron-hit World Rings In New Year Cautiously, Some Encouraging Signs

Omicron may have dampened New Year celebrations around the world, but as countries ring in 2022, here are some encouraging signs.

London Throws New Year Party On TV

London, which had cancelled a fireworks display and light show in October, decided to go ahead with the spectacle live on television screen, Reuters reported. Big Ben rang in the New Year for the first time since 2017 following a restoration.

Earlier, Britain published a study of a million cases that found those with Omicron were around a third as likely to need hospitalisation as those with the Delta variant, the report said. The results were “in keeping with the encouraging signs we have already seen,” said Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency.

Omicron-Driven Fourth Wave Has Passed: South Africa

South Africa has lifted its COVID-19 restrictions, including a midnight-to-4 am curfew. The country, where the highly transmissible variant was first detected in November, has passed the Omicron-fuelled fourth wave, officials said.

“All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level,” a Cabinet statement said earlier. “While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of hospitalisation than in previous waves,” it added.

Data showed a 29.7 per cent decrease in new cases detected in the week ending December 25, officials said.

Omicron Spares The Lungs, Suggest Studies

Omicron infection was largely limited to the upper airway: the nose, throat and windpipe, new animal research suggests, according to a report in The New York Times. The variant did much less harm to the lungs, it said.

Milder, Suggests Oxford Scientist

Omicron is not “the same disease we were seeing a year ago”, a University of Oxford immunologist has said.

It appears to be less severe and even patients who do end up in the hospital spend less time there, John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Bloomberg reported.

“The horrific scenes that we saw a year ago — intensive care units being full, lots of people dying prematurely — that is now history in my view, and I think we should be reassured that that’s likely to continue,” Bell said.