A US expert has said the public isn't taking Covid-19 ‘seriously’ enough.
As new subvariants continue to rip across the country, President and CEO of the New Hampshire Health Care Association Brendan Williams revealed that people have failed to understand the severity of the situation.
During an interview with The Guardian, Williams said cases are expected to rise, especially during autumn.
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He said one of the best ways to keep pressure off hospitals and nursing homes is keeping people in the community 'healthy’, but notes the public has become complacent in recent months.
He said: “It just doesn’t seem like people are wearing masks and getting boosted – people aren’t taking any of this seriously.
“We just seemed to declare that when it comes to Covid mortality, we’re number one, and that’s a title that we’re not going to relinquish to any other country.”
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According to the outlet, most Covid-19 hospitalisations are among those 65 and older; however, for children under four - the number has roughly doubled in the past year.
Additionally, Covid-19 deaths have risen by 44 per cent from 2,705 in the week ending January 4 to 3,907 in the week ending January 11.
And with XBB.1.5 or ‘Kraken’ running rampant, it’s predicted to be the most transmissible of the variants thus far.
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The World Health Organization technical lead on Covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, said Kraken has a 'growth advantage’ over other forms of the SARS-CoV-2.
"We do expect further waves of infection around the world, but that doesn't have to translate into further waves of death because our countermeasures continue to work," she said during a news conference earlier this month.
The latest omicron subvariant is estimated to be the cause of nearly 60 per cent of all new infections in the Northeast, as per KKTV.
New York has faced their highest number of Covid-19 hospitalisations since February, with more than 4,000 people being admitted to hospital, as per the New York State Department of Health.
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“This is a new emerging subvariant and it has risen very quickly across the country,” said White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr Ashish Jha, as per 9News.
”People who have gotten that updated bivalent booster, all the evidence so far suggests that they’re still protected against even this XBB.1.5,” Jha continued.
He added: "If we all do our part, we can reduce the impact it will have on our lives."
Charisa Bossinakis