Experts warn of incipient COVID-19 Stealth Surge



“This is an early warning of a significant surge in COVID-19 community spread of a subvariant (BA.2 a.k.a.: The Stealth Variant) of the SARS-COV-2 Omicron VOC, This BA.2 comprises  nearly 30% of new COVID-19 infections in the world. In the USA that number is roughly 25%. Notably, New York and New Jersey are seeing around 40% prevalence now in an incipient community spread. Data are showing BA.2 is 30% more transmissible than the primary Omicron VOC,” notes Dr. Fred Harris of the Civil Society Partners against COVID-19 tracking team in Singapore.

 


by Sharon Santiago and Micheal John


COVID-19 Notables in the past week:

    • There have been 2.1 million new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
    • Deaths from COVID-19 have reached 6,108,382 in all countries and regions reported by CSPaC.net
    • Canada has approved the Moderna vaccine for children ages 6 to 11.

    • Testing requirements for travel to Canada are lifted for vaccinated persons. A person is now considered vaccinated if they  have received at least two doses of a vaccine accepted for travel,  the second dose at least 14 calendar days before entering Canada.
    • Moderna has asked the USA Drug Administration to approve a second booster of the Moderna Vaccine for adults.

    • On Thursday a meeting with US President Joseph Biden and Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin was cancelled after the PM tested positive for coronavirus during a DC gala event on Wednesday that both men attended.

    • Doug Emhoff, the USA First Gentleman, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, tested positive for the virus.

    • During the past week former President Barack Obama also tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the World Health Organizaton, Omicron is “a highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations, including 26-32 mutations in the spike protein, some of which are associated with humoral immune escape potential and higher transmissibility. The Omicron variant comprises four lineages including B.1.1.529, BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.”

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) some 2% of the 688 wastewater sites tracked by the CDC showed a 1-9% increase in coronavirus levels from February 27 to March 13, while 9% of sites showed a 10-99% increase, 12% showed a 100-999% increase and 15% showed an increase of 1,000% or greater.

Graph below: Current Geographic distribution of COVID-19, 14-day COVID-19 case notification rate per 100 000. Darker areas indicate serious threat of community spread.

Geographic distribution of COVID-19 14-day COVID-19 case notification rate per 100 000, weeks 9-10 Graph Courtesy European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control An agency of the European Union


Rise in global cases in week 10 of 2022

Distribution of cases of COVID-19 by continent (according to the applied case definition and testing strategies in the affected countries). Cases reported in accordance with the applied case definition and testing strategies in the affected countries. Graph Courtesy European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control An agency of the European Union


Hospitalizations in Canada still very high. Decline in numbers has slowed.


Hospitalizations in Canada Source: Civil Society Partners against COVID-19 tracking team in Singapore.

Canada: This graph shows currently active cases since 1 January 2021. Last Updated: 2022-03-18 Time 19:51:46 GMT. Source: CSPaC.net Current 1.10% is Canada’s lowest COVID-19 Case Fatality Rate. Globally, 30% of cases are Omicron BA.2 subvariant, now a VOC. The decline in cases in Canada has stopped. Cases are now on the rise despite a radically diminished testing and reporting of case data in Canada. Source: Civil Society Partners against COVID-19 tracking team in Singapore.