Protests in Europe Omicron spreads in 15 US states and Fauci talks about “encouraging” indications and calls for receiving booster doses

An official in the US health sector confirmed the spread of the Omicron mutated Corona virus in 15 US states, while the US President's chief health adviser, Anthony Fauci, spoke of encouraging indications about the danger of the mutant, and Europe is witnessing protests against the re-imposition of restrictions.

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, Rochelle Willensky, said that the number of infections with the Omicron mutant is likely to rise in the coming days.

In an interview with ABC, Welinsky indicated that most of the infections in the United States are currently delta mutants, noting that there are about 100,000 daily infections with the Corona virus, almost 99% of which are delta mutated cases.

For his part, the US President's chief health adviser, Anthony Fauci, called for the demand for booster doses to confront the mutant Omicron.

In an interview with CNN, Fauci said that Omicron has become the most prevalent mutant in South Africa, but Delta is still the dominant mutant in the United States.

He added that the first "indications" in South Africa regarding the severity of an omicron infection were "somewhat encouraging", but noted that these were only preliminary data.

But medical experts have indicated in recent days that the demographics of the South African population are young, and they are likely to record serious cases in the coming weeks.

Laboratory studies are currently underway to find out whether the new mutant, which contains many mutations that worries scientists, is more likely to spread, in addition to the extent of its resistance to immunity resulting from the first infection or the vaccine, and whether its effect is more dangerous.

For his part, the president of Moderna, Stephen Hough, said in a statement to American "ABC" television, "I think there is a high probability that we will see a decrease in the effectiveness of vaccines."

The Omicron mutant has been detected so far in at least 15 US states and about 40 countries around the world, after it was first detected in South Africa.

A week ago, the United States closed its borders to this country and seven other countries in the south of the continent, and Fauci said on Sunday that he hoped to lift this ban "within a reasonable period".

Protests in europe

On the European continent, the Danish health authorities announced that the number of confirmed infections with Omicron rose by 183. While the number of people infected with the new mutation in the United Kingdom increased to 246 infected.

Several European cities have witnessed protests against the restrictions imposed by governments to limit the spread of the Corona virus, through mandatory vaccination certificates and closing restaurants and shops early.

Clashes took place between demonstrators and security forces on Sunday in Brussels, according to AFP journalists, during a rally organized by opponents of measures to combat the Covid-19 epidemic, in which 8,000 people participated, according to the police.

A group threw explosive devices at the police and fired firecrackers and fireworks at them, calling "Freedom, freedom." The police responded with water cannons and tear gas.

Four protesters and two policemen were wounded and taken to hospital, while 20 people were arrested, according to a police source.

Protest demonstrations also took place in Austria and the Netherlands, in rejection of the measures applied by the authorities to contain the large increase in people infected with the emerging corona virus.

New measures

In the United Kingdom, the authorities announced that travelers coming to the country will have to take a negative Covid-19 test before traveling, a move that was not favored by workers in the travel sector, which was just beginning to recover from the consequences of the outbreak of the epidemic.

In Saudi Arabia, starting from the first of next month, the authorities will allow entry to travelers who have received the Sputnik vaccine against Covid-19, in a procedure adopted by about 100 other countries, Moscow announced.

The Corona virus has caused the death of at least 5,249,851 people in the world, since the World Health Organization office in China reported the emergence of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a census conducted by Agence France-Presse based on official sources on Sunday.