COVID-19 news roundup: 4th Covid wave in St. Kitts declining, Omicron strain detected in 57 countries and more…

Fourth covid-19 wave contained in St. Kitts as new cases continue to decline 

Newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in St. Kitts and Nevis continue to steadily decline as health officials move forward with the successful Roll Up 2 Roll Out Vaccination Campaign while promoting non-pharmaceutical measures to reduce the spread of the deadly virus that has claimed 37 lives in the Federation.

According to St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS), over the period January 26 to February 01, 2022, there were 115 cases detected with 322 recoveries. In contrast, newly diagnosed cases stood at 305, with 936 recoveries between the period January 18 to 25, 2022.

“The number of cases is going down and we are happy for this … We are doing quite a good job in terms of containing this fourth wave of COVID-19 infections that started Christmas Eve 2021,” stated Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, at the February 02 edition of the National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Briefing.

The CMO provided an overall breakdown of the figures as a result of the fourth wave covering the period December 24, 2021, to February 01, 2022. There were 2,624 diagnosed cases, with 2,295 recoveries. The number of active cases stood at 342 while there were nine deaths.

Dr. Laws strongly encouraged persons to take five steps to protect themselves and their loved ones: Accept a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot; wear a face mask at all times; maintain good hand hygiene; maintain adequate distance from others and stay at home if feeling unwell.

Omicron coronavirus strain detected in 57 countries 

A recently discovered subvariant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain has now been detected in 57 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. In its weekly epidemiological update, the United Nations’ health agency noted on Tuesday that in some countries, the sub-variant now accounts for more than half of all sequenced Omicron cases.

According to an Aljazeera article, little is known yet about the differences between the sub-variants but several studies have suggested that BA.2, also known as the “stealth variant”, is more infectious than the original sub-lineage.

Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and the WHO’s technical lead on the coronavirus pandemic, told reporters that initial data indicated BA.2 had “a slight increase in growth rate over BA.1”, the first version of the Omicron variant. Van Kerkhove said there was “no indication that there is a change in severity” in the BA.2 sub-variant.

Flurona not a popular term with scientists and states is not real.

The word “flurona,” which has circulated on social media and refers to someone infected with both Covid and the flu, is apparently not popular with scientists.

In an NBC news article, Dr. Ellen Foxman, an immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine said the contraction, ‘flurona,’ is very misleading to people.

“It presents the idea two viruses have somehow merged into one, which is not at all the case. Somebody got a coinfection. People get coinfections all the time.”

The article noted that these coinfections are rather interesting to researchers. When someone is infected with two viruses, there are three options for how it could play out. The interaction could cause little or no effect, researchers said or the viruses could attack simultaneously, causing more damage than they would on their own.

“It’s a third option — which seems counterintuitive — that is perhaps most intriguing. If infections are closely spaced in time, it’s possible for one infection to block another, researchers say.”

Scientists think infection by the first virus puts your body’s immune system on heightened alert, triggering the secretion of a protein called interferon. This is an innate immune response that is generalized and doesn’t require prior memory of the viral invader.

Once they’re secreted, interferon proteins begin a process that can prevent viruses from replicating, research suggests.

Covid hospitalizations double in more than a dozen US states in two weeks 

Covid-19 hospitalizations have doubled in 15 states, over the past two weeks, contributing to a new national record for pandemic hospitalizations.

Across the country, average Covid hospitalizations increased by more than 60,000 from Dec. 27 to Jan. 10, according to an NBC News analysis of Department of Health and Human Services data. The U.S. set a record for single-day Covid hospitalizations on Sunday, when more than 142,000 hospitalizations were reported.

One out of every 10 of those patients is in Florida, where hospitals are facing a near-quadrupling of Covid patients in that time period. Average hospitalizations there rose from about 2,400 to more than 9,100. In Washington, D.C., 1 out of every 800 residents are hospitalized for Covid. In New Jersey, that number is 1 out of every 1,500.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slams protests in the capital city against Covid-19 vaccine mandates as “an insult to memory and truth”.

Protestors are demonstrating for a fourth consecutive day over a cross-border vaccine mandate for truckers imposed by the Liberal government.

Ottawa police asked the public to avoid the downtown area on Monday, citing “traffic, noise and safety issues”. Some downtown stores, including a shopping mall, will also be closed.

Demonstrators at the so-called Freedom Convoy have been mostly peaceful but the behavior of some members of the crowd has been strongly criticized.

BBC news reported that Police have opened investigations into several reported incidents, including footage of a woman dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial.

Nazi symbolism was seen on protest signs, some likening Covid-19 health measures to Jews under Nazi persecution. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies criticized the use of those symbols as “a heinous form of Holocaust distortion”.