The minister of health in South Africa said that hospitalizations stemming from the new variant of the coronaviruses are decreasing faster than they did with the previous variant.
A paramedic is seen by a line of ambulances outside the Royal London Hospital. JUSTIN TALLIS/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images
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The Minister of Health told reporters that the country's hospital admission rate for Covid-19 patients during the second week of infections driven by omicron is down by 90 percent compared to the second week.
1.7% of omicron cases require hospitalization, compared to 19% of delta cases.
The South African health ministry has said that the country has a younger average age of the population, which could prevent people from getting more serious illness, and that South Africa has more natural immunity than other countries.
The U.K. reported the most daily Covid-19 cases in the world for the third day in a row, with 93,045 cases reported in a single day.
The First Minister of Scotland said during a press conference that cases are rising in the country faster than anything previously experienced in the Pandemic.
According to the New York Times' covid tracker, more than 146,000 infections were reported in the 24 hours ending Thursday.
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The World Health Organization's Director-General cautioned against dismissing omicron as mild. He said that we have learned that we underestimate the danger of the virus. Even if omicron causes less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could overwhelm unprepared health systems.
The key background.
Scientists in South Africa were racing to study how existing Covid-19 treatments could work against the new variant. According to the WHO, the omicron variant has been found in at least 77 countries. Health officials are urging people to get vaccinations, wear masks, and get booster shots to protect themselves against the variant. During the press conference, Sturgeon said that every booster put into someone's arm is another brick in the wall of protection.
The number is big.
626,000. That is how many people in England received a booster shot in a single day.
The U.K. sets a new record.
The U.S. has the highest mortality rates in the country.
The U.K. removed 11 African countries from its travel red list.
