Panic over the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is unwarranted, as the World Health Organization has not seen deaths from this variant and states that the Delta variant is still prominent worldwide.
The newest variant is in 38 countries and many governments have tightened sanitary measures and even closed borders. The World Health Organization pointed out that restrictions such as closing borders threaten economic growth.
The International Monetary Fund estimates a slow down in the global economic recovery projected back in October. The latest estimate is a world GDP growth of 5.9% instead of 6% for 2021.
The Mexican Undersecretary of Health denounced the closing of borders, saying that it is not a useful measure to contain variants.
The risk of contracting Covid-19 again is three times higher with Omicron than with beta and delta variants, according to a study from South Africa. That country also reported an increase in infections in children, though it’s not known if this is related to Omicron.
