“Omicron 2 is very contagious “. This is the alarm that Professor Andrea Crisanti triggers on the new sub-variant, under the spotlight for symptoms it causes, duration of infection and incubation. “And just look at what is happening in China to understand that the containment of infections and transmission of the virus with this sub-variant, the BA.2, cannot be done. The zero Covid policy does not exist, it is impracticable”, says the director of the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Padua. “Even China”, which is facing a surge in infections despite the rigor with which it intervenes with restrictions, lockdowns and mass tests at the first outbreaks, “sooner or later will have to abandon the zero Covid policy” with this sub-variant of Sars-CoV -2 running.
“We are facing a virus that has a contagion index R0 of 12 – observes Crisanti – Bringing this value to 10” with measures and restrictions “does not change anything”. As for the severity of the disease, “if a person is not vaccinated or is frail, Omicron 2 gives severe disease. That is why it is crucial to protect the frail, because today the victims of the virus in particular are them”.
“Are we facing the fifth wave of Covid? I don’t know. But I would have liberalized everything immediately starting from the end of January. I would not have waited, because waiting was counterproductive”, he adds. “I believe that hospitalizations will also increase in the next few days – he observes – But the sub-variant Omicron 2”, which is growing rapidly in Italy and in the world, “leaves no choice: we need to protect the fragile, there is nothing else to do. Nothing can be done with these levels of transmission, no partial measures work. So let’s continue with the reopening “.
“Stopping them – he points out – is useless against a virus that has such a high contagion index. If I like the ‘roadmap’ that should lead to our ‘freedom day’? Waiting does not help and did not help”, reflects the expert : “By waiting it has happened that people who become infected now are actually more vulnerable, because it has been more time since the vaccination and since they were last infected. I’m not saying we should have followed Britain’s line. We should have find an Italian way to open everything and protect the vulnerable. We have the alternative and this is it “.