"A rapid rise in Omicron, like the one we are seeing in several countries, even if combined with slightly less severe illness, will still lead to a large number of hospitalizations, especially among the unvaccinated," said to AFP Catherine Smallwood, one of the main officials of WHO Europe.

- "caution" -

For some experts, greater contagion can negate the advantage of a less dangerous variant, while many countries announce record contagions since the start of the pandemic.

Experts are also uncertain whether this apparently lower severity comes from the variant's intrinsic characteristics, or whether it is related to the fact that it strikes populations that are already partially immune (by the vaccine or a previous infection).

Faced with these uncertainties, new restrictions have been adopted in several countries.

new confinement in China

China confined on Tuesday several tens of thousands of additional people, at a time when the country is facing a record number of Covid-19 contaminations within 40 days of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

A man gets tested for Covid in the confined Chinese city of Xi'an on December 25, 2021 STR AFP

The city of Xi'an (north), famous for the underground army of the first emperor of China, was subject to a sixth day of strict quarantine on Tuesday after a limited epidemic rebound.

300 kilometers away, tens of thousands of residents in a district of Yan'an city were in turn ordered to stay at home, while businesses were forced to close.

China reported on Tuesday 209 new Covid-19 patients, the highest number of daily infections for 21 months.

In Sweden, a negative Covid test is mandatory from this Tuesday for all travelers upon their arrival in the territory.

In France, new isolation rules for patients and their contacts will be set by the government "by the end of the week", Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Monday.

In Germany, a new battery of measures entered into force on Tuesday, ahead of the New Year's celebrations.

Intensive care unit of the university hospital in Bochum, Germany, December 16, 2021 Ina FASSBENDER AFP

Private meetings of more than ten people are prohibited, even for the vaccinated and the cured.

For the unvaccinated, the limit drops to two members from different foci.

All sports competitions, especially football matches, will take place behind closed doors, which is expected to affect the Bundesliga when the German league resumes on January 7.

Discos and clubs also closed to prevent the virus from spreading on December 31.

Numerous demonstrations, bringing together several thousand people, took place in the evening in several German cities on the eve of the entry into force of these new restrictions.

The German state must also take legislative measures to protect access to intensive care for people with disabilities, in the event of medical "sorting" imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Constitutional Court ruled in a judgment published on Tuesday.

For its part, Qatar's main public hospital group has suspended the leave of all its medical and administrative staff working with Covid-19 patients, while infections are on the rise in the Gulf countries.

The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP

The United States has halved, to five days, the duration of the quarantine of people infected with Covid-19, provided they are asymptomatic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 5,404,577 people worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP in from official sources Tuesday at 11am GMT.

© 2021 AFP