Concerns are rising among global health authorities as COVID-19 cases surge in countries in the Northern Hemisphere. This is particularly worrisome because respiratory illnesses tend to peak during the winter months in these regions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to enhance their surveillance and reporting of COVID-19 due to an increase in hospitalizations, primarily in European nations, over the past month.
“The virus is currently reinfecting millions of people each week,” warned Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on the COVID-19 response. However, surveillance has declined, making it difficult to accurately estimate the number of reinfections or infections. Despite this, trends in impact provide some indication of the situation.
During a WHO press conference on global health issues, Dr. Van Kerkhove stated that several Northern Hemisphere countries are experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, which is unexpected during the summer period for respiratory pathogens like influenza that typically peak in winter.
Dr. Van Kerkhove emphasized the concerning nature of these cases, especially as countries grapple with other pressing issues such as health impacts from wildfires and extreme heat.
According to Dr. Van Kerkhove, SARS-CoV-2 is circulating in all countries and causing numerous infections, reinfections, hospitalizations, admissions to ICU, and deaths. The WHO is closely monitoring various COVID-19 variants.
One such variant, BA.2.86, has drawn attention due to its high level of mutations. It has been detected in several countries, including Denmark, Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa, as well as in wastewater sampling in Switzerland and Thailand.
Although BA.2.86 is not considered a “variant of concern” and has not been assigned a Greek letter, Canada is monitoring its spread. Health Canada, along with national and international experts, is actively monitoring and evaluating BA.2.86 lineages and associated studies.
As of last Friday, no cases of the BA.2.86 lineage have been detected in Canada. It is still early to determine any new symptoms associated with this variant, but it is interesting to note that none of the affected individuals were immunocompromised.
While the world may be moving forward from the pandemic and the public health emergency has subsided, the WHO stresses the importance of maintaining surveillance of the virus as COVID-19 continues to evolve. Governments must remain diligent in their efforts to combat the ongoing threat.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton
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