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

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 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

Source