The New Variant

A new Covid variant has been found and it’s spreading like wildfire. The new variant being called the Omicron Variant was recently first detected in Africa and has quickly spread and has been found to spread a lot faster than the original coronavirus and has been worrying people all over the world, as they fear it could be a major threat, and could be a round 2 and be as big as the first wave in 2020.

What We Know:

We already know that Omicron has a much higher chance of spreading than the average covid-19 virus, and we also know it started first in Africa and that it’s already spreading throughout Europe and the US. So far, we don’t know however if the current vaccines have any power against the variant and studies are still being made. One thing we do know is that though it’s much more contagious than the more common coronavirus, it appears so far that it’s much less deadly. Though it might be less deadly based off what we’ve seen so far, the current death rate of the variant being around 1,300-1,500 deaths a day, so we should still take precautions and be prepared for any situation that might occur in the near future.

The Good News:

As mentioned earlier, the Omicron variant is less deadly but much more contagious, some health officials, and leaders in Denmark, are viewing the variant as a sort of good news. Why? You might be asking, well if there are less much people dying and extreme amounts of people contracting it, Denmark believes this could bring out a natural immunity against the virus and cause much less deaths in the future. While this is a good idea, it doesn’t mean you should go out and try to contract it purposely, the CDC is recommending everyone to be wearing masks, and being very cautious with what they touching, or doing on their day to day basis, since we know so little about the virus.

Lockdowns:

Some lockdowns have already occurred throughout the world, and some even in the US, as people try to prevent the spread of Omicron. Canada has already launched a very strict lockdown and the US might follow eventually, if it becomes severe enough. Many schools are also considering going into lockdown because of the sheer amount of cases among students and teachers. Even here at Dakota I’ve already noticed many people missing from classrooms and some of my teachers in quarantine as well, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if CVS does launch a lockdown and if other schools do also. Right now its best to keep your head up and be positive in such a worrisome time and hope for the best.

Information:

To learn more about the Omicron variant visit the CDC’s website at https://www.cdc.gov/