Just as the world indulged in a collective sigh of relief from the coronavirus with omicron, the new BA.2 subvariant of the deadly disease has started to dominate cases, dashing hopes for a quick end to the pandemic.
The subvariant now accounts for most of the cases in Europe, with countries revising plans to respond to the course of the pandemic.
For Turkey, on the continent’s southeastern tip, trends in the pandemic in Europe often arrive late. Waves of cases stemming from new variants of the infection usually arrive within two months after they are first reported elsewhere.
The subvariant is now being closely monitored by health authorities and experts in the country, which recently relaxed pandemic-related restrictions, encouraged by a decline in the cases. In the meantime, it relishes a reduced burden on health care, as fewer cases require hospitalization.
BA.2 is responsible for 60% of cases in some European countries, from Britain, France and Germany to Switzerland and Austria. It has also rapidly spread in the United States. BA.2, as a matter of fact, spreads faster than omicron and affects children and people aged 60 and above as well. Still, experts predict that it will not increase fatalities as a subvariant that the efficiency of vaccines can counter. Still, authorities have considered implementing new measures based on the course of the pandemic, in case of higher severity in cases or a rising number of deaths.
Currently, Turkey enjoys a decline in the pandemic, with daily fatalities now below 100. On Tuesday, the country reported 17,426 new cases and 90 fatalities. Figures are promising in terms of pandemic trends, compared to more than 100,000 in February, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 in Turkey. Slight fluctuations are reported some days, but the cases are mostly confined below 20,000. More importantly, hospitals have fewer COVID-19 patients now thanks to omicron’s mild symptoms, which people outside risk groups such as the elderly and those with chronic illnesses can easily recover from while quarantining at home.
