One year after Omicron, how is the world coping with coronavirus?
It is barely more than a year since scientists in southern Africa first detected the coronavirus Omicron variant, which, along with its myriad sub-variants, went on to become dominant around the globe.
Omicron spreads more easily than earlier variants, but causes less severe illness and death in general, statistics have shown.
However, a surge in cases may lead to increases in admissions to hospital and deaths. Omicron caused Covid-19 infection and death rates to soar in many nations.
But, 12 months months on, the latest figures from the World Health Organisation indicate that the disease is causing a little more than 8,000 deaths a week worldwide — the lowest figure since March 2020, when the pandemic was declared by the WHO.
In 2021, there was no single week when fewer than 40,000 ...
