European states restore restrictions as Omicron spreads

European nations are reinstating COVID restrictions to tackle the surge in corona cases as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly across the continent.

A World Health Organization’s top official in the continent has warned that the rise in Covid Omicron cases across Europe will push health systems towards the verge of collapse.

Omicron Case across the EU states

According to the stats of the UK Health Security Agency published on Dec. 16, the number of cases of the Omicron variant detected in the country is 11,708 as of the evening of Dec. 15.

• Germany reported two cases in travelers who arrived at Munich airport, after returning from South Africa.There are now 102 known cases, according to the latest data from the ECDC.
• Belgium identified the first case of the Omicron variant on European soil on November 26. The patient is said to be a young woman who had been in Egypt and had been showing symptoms for 11 days. A total of 121 cases have been officially linked to the new variant since the identification of 1^st case.
• France has now identified 170 positive cases of the Omicron variant, according to the French health minister Olivier Veran. The first case of Omicron variant was registered in the country on Dec. 16, in a traveler returning from Mauritius after a trip to Mozambique.
• Austrian government announced its first case on 29^th November – a man from the Tyrol region who had recently travelled to South Africa. As per ECDC, the country has now confirmed a further 70 cases as of December 16.
• Denmark reported its first confirm Omicron case on Nov. 28 when it was detected in two people. The country has so far reported 383 cases through whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and a further 5,664 confirmed nationally through a variant-specific PCR testing.

Other EU countries with confirmed Omicron cases

Additionally, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Estonia, Finland Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Czech Republic have also confirmed the presence of Omicron variant.

Measures taken to curb the spread of Omicron variant:

Keeping in view the current situation, various countries have taken serious measures, which are given below;

• Vaccination of children between the ages of five and 11 started in France.
• In Portugal, bars and nightclubs to be shut down from 26 December and work from home obligatory from the said date until 9 January. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people.
• From 28^th December private gatherings to be restricted to 10 people and nightclubs would close in Germany. Football matches from that date will also be played behind closed doors.
• Netherlands has also announced strict lockdown.

The widely spreading Omicron COVID variant was first detected in South Africa at the end of November this year. Since then, 85 countries worldwide have confirmed cases of the variant till now, according to the statistics shared by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).