According to a survey by the organization Our World In Data, the world set a new record for Covid-19 cases recorded in 24 hours this Wednesday (5), reaching 2.59 million. The previous record had been registered the day before, January 4, with 2.4 million.
Despite the increase in cases, the number of deaths is lower than at other times of the coronavirus pandemic – 7,890 were counted in the last 24 hours. The record for one-day deaths was recorded on January 26, 2021, with 17,442.
The growing number of infections is linked by experts to the spread of the Ômicron variant, which is more easily transmitted than earlier forms of the virus. According to predictions by the World Health Organization (WHO), it should become the dominant strain in several places around the world in the coming weeks.
In Brazil, 19 thousand new cases were registered in the last 24 hours, also according to data collected by Our World In Data. In the country, Ômicron has already reached several states, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The United States added the largest number of new cases of the disease in this interval, with 869,187, only about 27 thousand cases less than all the member countries of the European Union combined, which registered 896,564. Other countries that suffer with the arrival of the new strain are France, occupying the second place in the ranking of which most cases registered in the last 24 hours, with 271,746, and the United Kingdom, in third place with 221,222.
On Tuesday, WHO incident manager Abdi Mahamud said the organization sees evidence that Ômicron, while more transmissible, can cause milder symptoms. “We are seeing more and more studies showing that micron infects the upper body. Unlike others, which can cause severe pneumonia,” he said.
Vaccination, according to specialists, is still the most effective way to prevent serious infections, deaths and hospitalizations by Covid-19, and keeping the vaccination framework updated is essential.
Reference: CNN Brasil
