Omicron can make you infectious more quickly than Delta

 

Omicron can make you infectious more quickly than Delta

Early data suggests that a person with the new Omicron variant becomes contagious faster than Delta.

And one expert added, make sure no one attending the party has developed cold-like symptoms in the past few days.

Experts said partygoers should take a rapid test to check for COVID-19 near the event's start.

Early data from the UK suggests that people who pick up the new Omicron variant become more infectious than those with Delta. Experts have warned that testing too early could allow cases to be missed.

The Omicron variant, which contains 32 mutations in the part of the virus that infects human cells, is spreading rapidly in South Africa and the United Kingdom - possibly because its modifications help it escape the immune response to previous infections and existing vaccines. According to the World Health Organization, we are still missing information on whether Omicron will be more dangerous than Delta, which is still the most common variant worldwide.

On Twitter Sunday, Michael Mina, a former assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health, said that testing a day or two before the event "doesn't work."

The most important thing is the test right before the sharing event," he said. He said you could go from an "undetectable" number to an "extremely high" number of virus particles, called the viral load, in 24 hours.

Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, said the "transmission time" of the Omicron was too short. He told the Guardian Sunday that people should get a quick test "a few hours before leaving the house," adding that people should wear a "high-quality mask" if they use crowded public transport to travel to an event.

"Avoid large gatherings and divide your groups into smaller groups where you can control the environment and have everyone get the test that day," Spector said, adding that people should also check that no one has had cold-like symptoms in the past. Three to four days.

The CDC recommends getting a rapid test regardless of vaccination status or symptoms. Repeating the test in a few days, with at least 24 hours between tests, will increase confidence that you are not infected."

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