The fear of the new mutation 'Omicron' of Corona 19 is spreading around the world.
This is because it is estimated that the propagation power of Omicron is stronger than the delta mutation, which has strong propagation power.
Although no official research results have been released yet, some experts have predicted that the omicron has more than five times the propagation power of the delta mutation in terms of the rate of diffusion.
Countries that have opened their borders are locking them again one after another, and there are concerns that existing vaccines will become ineffective.
A case that can measure the propagation power of such microns has been reported in Hong Kong.
Two patients on the same floor of a Hong Kong quarantine hotel... Estimated 'secondary infection'
Hong Kong quarantine authorities said that so far there have been two cases of Omicron.
Combining reports from Chinese and Hong Kong media, the first patient is a 36-year-old Indian man who entered Hong Kong from South Africa on November 11.
The man tested negative for COVID-19 at the time of entry, but tested positive two days later, on the 13th.
This man was staying in a hotel dedicated to quarantine for arrivals.
The second patient is a 62-year-old Chinese man who arrived from Canada a day earlier than this man.
The second patient was living in isolation in the same hotel as the first patient.
The first patient stayed in room 5112 and the second patient stayed in room 5111.
This is the room opposite the hallway.
The second patient tested positive on November 18th.
It has been a week since the first patient entered the hotel.
Both patients had completed two doses of Pfizer vaccine.
The Hong Kong health authorities said that the second infection occurred at a hotel after the second patient tested positive during quarantine eight days after entering the country, and that there were no Omicron patients in Canada at the time this patient entered the country. I am estimating.
Omicron was transmitted from the first patient.
There is no contact between the two patients... weight on the possibility of airborne transmission
The problem is that the two patients never had contact in the hotel.
Therefore, the weight is being put on the possibility of transmission through the air rather than through droplets.
According to Hong Kong health authorities, the first patient did not come out of the room, but held several visits a day.
When picking up food placed at the door entrance or disposing of garbage, etc.
The second patient, who was in the opposite room, also opened the door for a while to receive food, and it is believed that the virus was transferred to the second patient in the process.
Health officials said the first patient, in particular, was wearing a valve-type mask.
This mask is known to be relatively easy to breathe. When you breathe in, it normally blocks external micro-materials, but when you breathe out, the micro-materials escape through the valve and have no effect on filtering viruses. .
They protect themselves from others, but they do not protect others from themselves, so they are sometimes called 'selfish masks'.
The health authorities are investigating the possibility that the virus in the patient's body escaped into the hallway through the valve-type mask when the first patient opened the door for a while, or the virus staying in the room leaked into the hallway through the opening of the room door. All are being investigated.
'Propagation through the air' is still a 'probable inference' and has not been officially confirmed.
Hong Kong authorities moved the two patients and 12 people on the same floor of the hotel to another quarantine facility, where they were quarantined for an additional 14 days.
No additional cases of Omicron have been reported in Hong Kong yet.
43 Omicron Spike Protein Mutations… WHO: “It will take weeks to figure it out”
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on the 29th that a study by Italian researchers found 43 mutations in the spike protein of Omicron.
That's more than the 32 previously known.
Spike protein mutations play a kind of key role in the process of corona virus penetration into human cells, the higher the number, the easier it is to penetrate the human body.
The Italian researchers found that the number of spike protein mutations in the delta variant was 18.
This is why there are concerns that vaccines developed for existing viruses may be ineffective.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is of the view that more time is needed to determine the transmission power and risk of Omicron.
The WHO issued a statement on the 28th, saying, "The contagiousness and risk of Omicron has not yet been clearly identified."
Hospitalization rates in South Africa are rising, but it's unclear whether this is due to Omicron or the overall increase in the number of infections.
Currently, there is no information to suggest that Omicron's symptoms are different from other mutations, he added, adding that it could take days or weeks to determine the severity of the symptoms.
(Photo=Hong Kong South China Morning Post)