By: George Beitis, Financial Analyst, Infocredit Group
A question asked by many nowadays as a newly detected coronavirus variant in Botswana and South Africa causes panic across the world.
Governments, the public, and the stock market are consumed by the fear of another lock-down and of further restrictions in order to contain the virus as further mutations will make vaccination efforts ineffective.
Many senior health officials are saying that patients found with the Omicron coronavirus, 84.2% of those cases detected in the country are asymptomatic. Despite the low mortality rate, the surge in coronavirus cases in South Africa is becoming the dominant strain. New cases of the Omicron variant were detected in the United States, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Europe.
Source: WHO.
Belgium was the first country in Europe to detect an infection with the newly found variant of Covid. Within a matter of days, Omicron cases were found in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands and as of Tuesday, 30/11/2021, the UK government has reimposed mandatory masks and will require anyone traveling to the country from abroad to take a PCR test.
Below is the cumulative number of Covid cases per 100k population and above is the new cases per 100k population. In Europe, Luxembourg was most gravely affected by the Covid as a country and Croatia’s new cases are among the highest in Europe.
Sources: WHO & World Bank.
With 3 billion people fully vaccinated, hope lingers in the minds of the public for a safer environment. Unfortunately, according to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (Who), less than 10% of the African countries' population has been vaccinated. As a result, many countries will impose restrictions on travelers coming from the African continent and a further mutation is expected should the virus is not contained.
Source: WHO
By: George Beitis, Financial Analyst, Infocredit Group.
Infocredit Group has been a leading provider of business intelligence and risk management solutions for over 45 years. The company’s core services include Credit Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, Corporate Governance, Consulting, Debt Recovery, Call Centre Services and Professional on an international scale via its established global network of strategic partners.
This article used sources from the following organizations/associations: WHO, CNBC, World Bank, BBC, The Guardian, Europa.eu