The number of confirmed cases of the new Omicron variant of the virus responsible for Covid-19 jumped to 183 on Sunday (December 5) in Denmark, health authorities announced, describing the development as "worrying".
At the last tally on Friday, Denmark had only 18 confirmed cases and 42 suspected cases, according to data from the public institute SSI.
The Nordic country is one of the most advanced in terms of sequencing in Europe, allowing it to detect more cases and more quickly, without this means that the contagion is stronger there than elsewhere.
Prior to this announcement, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) had a total of 182 cases across the European Union, plus Norway and Iceland.
"Chains of contagion"
"We are seeing a worrying increase in the number of cases of Omicron infections in Denmark," SSI director Henrik Ullum said in a statement.
"There are now chains of contagion where the variant is detected in people who have not gone on a trip or been in contact with travelers," he underlines.
The institute is working "intensively" to further accelerate the rapid results of laboratory tests, so that health institutions can trace the chains of contamination "as quickly as possible", adds the health official.
"The time we save, we must use it to vaccinate as many people as possible. Significant immunity gives more solidity to our society, if the Omicron contamination continues," he argues.
With AFP
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