Lifting restrictions is harmful since Omicron strain is more fatal than seasonal flu

According to Japanese experts, the omicron strain of Covid-19 is at least 40 percent more dangerous than seasonal flu, according to Bloomberg. The study highlighted the risk of removing covid pandemic restrictions too soon and underestimating the virus’s continued health dangers. The research was not, however, peer-reviewed or published in a medical publication.
According to a Bloomberg storey, the case fatality rate of omicron in Japan was roughly 0.13 percent in January, based on cumulative excess fatalities and the number of infections, according to an analysis by experts who advise the country’s health minister. While this is lower than the 4.25 percent case fatality rate recorded earlier in the outbreak, it is still greater than the 0.006 percent to 0.09 percent found with seasonal flu, according to the researchers.

Countries all across the world have started removing barriers, from mask bans to testing procedures, and striving for a return to normalcy. Western Australia became the last state to abolish border restrictions today, making Australia entirely accessible to vaccinated visitors. To halt the spread of COVID-19, Western Australia, which encompasses one-third of the country’s land area, closed its borders to most international and interstate travellers in 2020. However, four months after Sydney began its phased resumption of quarantine-free travel and more than a week after all vaccinated visitors were eligible for visas, the state abolished restrictions.

Face masks have long been thought to be a crucial first line of defence against the new coronavirus. COVID-19, like many other viruses, is spread predominantly by airborne particles. Infected people exhale virus-containing particles into the air, which can be inhaled by someone else, who subsequently gets infected.

According to the findings of two research, people with COVID-19 may have many forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus concealed away from the immune system in various areas of the body.

According to an international team lead by experts from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Germany, this might make total viral clearance from the sick person’s body considerably more challenging.

The research, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, shows how the virus may modify its immunity and develop differently in various cell types inside the same infected host.