Omicron: Sturgeon sends warning of ‘tsunami of infections'

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Nicola Sturgeon warned Scotland could now be on track of facing a “tsunami of infections” because of the new Omicron variant. Ms Sturgeon said the new variant has the fastest exponential growth seen in the pandemic so far. She said the latest estimates suggest Omicron will likely become the dominant strain of coronavirus in Scotland within days.

The First Minister also warned the R rate, which calculates the average number of secondary infections produced by a single infected person, could rise above 2 in the coming weeks.

She said: “The fact is that we do face a renewed and a very severe challenge in the face of the new Omicron variant.

“To be blunt, because of the much greater and faster transmissibility of this new variant, we may be facing – indeed we may be starting to experience, a potential tsunami of infections. 

“We’re not alone in it, far from it, everything I’m about to share is, I believe, broadly reflected in the date for the rest of the UK, too.”

MORE TO FOLLOW…

Ms Sturgeon continued: “And although I’m not familiar with the data elsewhere, I would suspect it’s reflected there too.

“5,018 cases were reported yesterday, which is 9.3 percent of all tests carried out.

“This is one day’s figure but, as you can see, it’s a star rise on the average of around 2,800 that we’ve been reporting recently and underlines out fear a new wave may indeed be starting.”

Source: Read Full Article