On Tuesday, an Israeli hospital verified the country’s first known fatality caused by Omicron, the newest form of SARS-CoV-2 that has reintroduced 2020-style restrictions throughout the world. With the addition of Israel, three nations have now reported fatalities from Omicron, a version of the virus that is spreading faster than Delta but causes a milder disease.
Here is all you need to know about Omicron deaths in 3 countries.
Israel
The Israeli hospital, where the death was reported, said the patient was a male in his sixties with a number of serious pre-existing conditions. “His morbidity stemmed mainly from pre-existing sicknesses and not from respiratory infection arising from the coronavirus,” the hospital said.
United States
The first Omicron death in the United States was recorded on Monday. The patient was aged between 50 and 60 years and was believed to be unvaccinated.
United Kingdom
Britain said 12 people who have been infected with the Omicron variant have died in the country. In the UK, the new variant is spreading faster with the number of hospitalisation also increasing. Fresh restrictions ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations are also on the cards.
The first case of Omicron was reported by South Africa on November 24. Within weeks, the variant spread to the maximum number of countries. Experts said the variant is spreading faster than Delta, which caused the second wave of the pandemic, but is not causing severe illness. Almost all Omicron cases across the world have zero to mild symptoms. The virus is also not affecting the lungs, as scientists believe that the variant is multiplying in the throat making scratchy throat a symptom of the variant. For weeks, there was no death attributed to Omicron. The deaths reported from these three countries — though details of all cases are not known — indicate people above the age of 50 with comorbidities are at a greater risk. More so, if they are not vaccinated. Omicron is known to be capable of evading immunity, but experts have said that present vaccines can still guard against the severity of Covid caused by Omicron – to some extent.
