@pieterstreicher
1 of 6:
Gauteng #Omicron update – 8 December:
The load on hospitals is significantly lower compared to Delta, and with a peak imminent, hospitals will not be overloaded at all.
No restrictions are needed to help hospitals in any way.
2 of 6:
The total number of patients in hospital is well below the Delta wave.
Since a peak in hospital numbers is expected in 12-22 days, this variable is not a concern anymore.
data source: NICD
3 of 6:
The portion of hospital patients ending up in ICU is much lower (10%) compared to Delta (24%).
Considering that a significant portion of patients in hospital have not been infected before, or are not vaccinated, #Omicron must be significantly less virulent.
4 of 6:
The portion of hospital patients ending up on ventilators is even lower (3-4%) compared to Delta (10%).
Note that the ratios for Delta were similar for Beta and the wild type virus. #Omicron is the first variant with such a dramatic drop in disease severity.
5 of 6:
Thanks to @jburnmurdoch for also highlighting this signficant drop with #Omicron .
There are additional factors such as lower ages of admissions that also reduce disease severity, but age alone cannot explain the significant drop.
https://t.co/v9Pn77UUh1
6 of 6:
Countries are quick to implement travel bans, but take months to lift them.
Every vulnerable person infected with Delta before Omicron has a higher mortality risk, even if fully vaccinated.
Since we have leaky vaccines, a certain level of infections are inevitable.
Originally tweeted by pieterstreicher (@pieterstreicher) on December 8, 2021.
