AMMAN — Member of the
National Committee for Epidemiology Bassam
Hijjawi on Friday said that there has been a noticeable increase in COVID-19 infections
in Jordan, with more than 34,000 cases recorded last week only, compared to
19,000 cases registered the previous week, according to Al-Rai.
اضافة اعلان
According to Hijjawi, around 56 percent of last week COVID-19 cases
were recorded among people aged under 34.
“In the last week of the third wave, Jordan recorded 12,600
COVID-19 cases, while the following week it registered 19,000 cases. However,
this week, 34,900 cases were registered,” said Hijjawi, indicating that the number
of Omicron infections has increased by leaps and bounds, many more than compared
to the Delta variant.
“We might record more than 50,000 cases each weak at the peak of
the fourth wave in Jordan,” he said, adding that the fourth wave is expected to
end within 10 weeks, which the last Delta wave lasted around three months.
Hijjawi also pointed out that the symptoms induced by the Omicron
variant are weaker than those of
Delta, as it only infects the upper
respiratory tract, while Delta reaches the lungs and might
cause breathing problems.
Still, unvaccinated people who get infected
with the Omicron variant might need to be admitted to the ICU, Hijjawi said,
adding that recovery from Omicron infection reaches up to 90 percent.
Other remarks were made on Friday by the Ministry
of Health Secretary-General Adel Balbisi who said that there has been an 80
percent increase in COVID-19 cases, which drove the positivity rates high.
He also said that only 625 cases are currently
receiving treatment in hospitals.
The infections are expected to peak in
mid-February, according to Balbisi, after which the caseload will start to
decline, which prompted the postponement of the second school semester until
February 20.
He also said that the Omicron variant might
infect 20 percent of the medical staff, adding that it usually infects young
people, and that
Omicron variant was responsible for around 60 percent of the new
COVID-19 infections.
The quarantine period for those infected
with the Omicron variant is seven days in the case of those asymptomatic, and
10 days for those showing symptoms of the virus, Balbisi added.
Earlier Thursday, he stressed the
importance of receiving the COVID-19 booster shot, adding that it enhances
immunity by up to 80 percent against the virus and the Omicron variant; he also
asked the public to comply with preventive measures, according to the Jordan News
Agency, Petra.
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