More than 2,000 folks have examined optimistic for COVID-19 this month in connection to live shows by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.
The optimistic instances have been recorded after the artist, whose actual identify is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, performed two exhibits in Puerto Rico on December 10 and 11, in keeping with the native newspaper El Nuevo Dia. The exhibits befell at Hiram Bithorn stadium within the island’s capital of San Juan.
More than two weeks after the occasion, Puerto Rico’s Office of Epidemiology has recorded no less than 2,005 optimistic coronavirus instances from contact tracing information of people who both attended the live performance, or got here in touch with somebody who had, El Nuevo Dia reported on Friday.
The huge outbreak comes as Puerto Rico is experiencing a surge of recent infections throughout the island, largely pushed by the extremely contagious Omicron variant. Puerto Rico is now recording a mean of 5,148 new every day instances, marking a 5,000 p.c improve from two weeks prior, when instances have been simply over 100 per day, in keeping with the New York Times.
According to El Nuevo Dia, preliminary laboratory outcomes have advised that 92 p.c of optimistic samples collected in Puerto Rico over the previous week present traits of the Omicron variant.
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Omicron has taken the globe by storm because it was first detected in South Africa in early November. Now, the most recent variant has been detected in each U.S. state, and has surpassed Delta in changing into the dominant pressure within the nation.
The U.S. is now reporting a mean of greater than 200,000 instances per day, however some health-care consultants have warned that quantity might quickly attain as excessive as 1 million as infections proceed to soar. An inflow in new instances this week prompted 1000’s of flights to be canceled over Christmas, whereas a requirement for testing has resulted in lengthy traces and delayed turnover occasions.
Across Europe, a number of international locations have moved to impose new COVID-19 restrictions forward of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have every determined to shut nightclubs as instances rise, whereas Belgium moved to shut film theaters, live performance halls, and fireworks occasions.
Scientists are nonetheless working to uncover details about the Omicron variant, however early information has advised that it might end in much less extreme sickness than different strains, particularly amongst those that are vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that vaccination is the best option to fight the unfold of the virus.
“Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant,” the CDC mentioned on its web site. “Vaccines remain the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging.”