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Omicron Subvariant BA.2 might be as dangerous as Delta, epidemic expert warns

News Agency nabakhabar — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 18:09:25 +0000

An expert in epidemic diseases warns that the COVID Omicron Subvariant BA.2 might be as dangerous as the previous variant Delta.

The news came amid the World Health Organization (WHO) warnings that BA.2 has been rapidly spreading worldwide.

“BA.2 subvariant may cause a more severe disease rather than BA.1 Omicron subvariant and might be as dangerous as Delta variant of the coronavirus,” Masoud Mardani, an infectious disease specialist, told Iran Press on Monday.

The Omicron, called by the WHO “a variant of concern,” has two sublineages, namely BA.1 and BA.2.

Meanwhile, the WHO has warned that “the BA.2 sublineage should continue to be considered a variant of concern and that it should remain classified as Omicron.”

“At a global level, the proportion of reported sequences designated BA.2 has been increasing relative to BA.1 in recent weeks,” the WHO said on February 22.

The UN body said the initial data suggest that BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1, which currently remains the most common Omicron sublineage reported.

Mardani, who sits on Iran’s Scientific Committee of the National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce, added: “Most cases of Omicron in Iran were related to BA.1, which was more like a cold, and most of the patients recovered without having severe symptoms.”

Referring to the danger of BA.2, he said: “BA.2 subvariant may cause a more severe disease such as Delta COVID, but fortunately only a small percentage of infections in Iran are diagnosed as this subvariant.”

Omicron wave in downward trend

Pointing to the decrease in the number of new coronavirus infections in Iran, the infectious disease specialist said the Omicron wave in the country has now entered a downward trend. “Given that the Omicron reaches the peak quickly and declines rapidly, it has been more than a month now that this COVID variant has entered the country and after reaching the peak, it is now in a downward trend and new cases of the disease and new hospitalizations are very low.”

“A large number of hospital beds have been vacated and outpatients have been reduced to one third,” said the infectious disease specialist, referring to the favorable condition of the hospitals. “Of course, ICU beds are still occupied because people who have contracted Omicron during the peak still need care.

Mardani noted that the ICU hospitalization and new deaths are expected to decrease in the next two weeks, which will be after Iran’s new year celebrations, Nowruz.

Do not travel to these countries!

The expert in epidemic diseases also warned against traveling to certain countries.

Referring to statistics provided by the World Health Organization, he said that in the next two weeks, epidemics of BA.2 may occur in Yemen, Egypt and Kuwait, leading to a new wave of disease in these countries.

Mardani advised travelers to Turkey and the UAE to take health protocols seriously and to refrain from attending places where social distancing is not observed.

Fourth dose of vaccine, necessary?

In response to Iran Press’ question on whether the fourth dose of the COVID vaccine is necessary or not, Mardani said: “So far, the World Health Organization and Iran’s Scientific Committee of the National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce have not reached the conclusion that the fourth dose is necessary.”

He added: “Of course, the fourth dose of the vaccine may be considered for immunocompromised patients, whose bodies do not produce enough antibodies, and it is scheduled to be discussed in the committee next week.”

The fourth dose may be needed for certain groups, but it is not recommended at all for ordinary people, the infectious disease specialist concluded.

Reported by Mojtaba Darabi

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‘Counterproductive, dangerous’: Putin slams pro-Navalny protests

News Agency nabakhabar — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:37:37 +0000

President Vladimir Putin has described mass protests held at the weekend demanding the release of Alexey Navalny as illegal and dangerous, as he faces mounting pressure from the West and thousands of Russians over the leading Kremlin critic’s arrest.

Putin on Monday fielded questions from students in a video call from his Zavidovo residence after tens of thousands of Russians demonstrated against Navalny’s detention in several cities and towns on Saturday.

“All people have the right to express their point of view within the framework of the law. Everything that goes beyond the framework of the law is not only counterproductive but also dangerous,” he said.

“In the history of our country, we have repeatedly encountered situations when the situation went far beyond the law and shook our society and the state, where not only people who were engaged in it suffered but also those people who had nothing to do with it.

“All these events about which I just talked about – no one should use them trying to reach their ambitious goals and objectives, especially in the field of politics. This is not how politics is done, at least not a responsible politics.”

Police detained more than 3,000 protesters and used force to break up the rallies, which saw people ignore extreme cold and police warnings to publicly call for the 44-year-old’s immediate release.

Several protesters were injured in clashes with riot police, the OVD-Info protest monitor group reported.

Navalny, Putin’s most prominent critic, was arrested on January 17 as he returned to Russia after five months in Germany spent recovering from an alleged poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.

The Kremlin says it has seen no evidence that Navalny was poisoned.

After landing in Moscow and being immediately arrested, he was soon jailed for 30 days over alleged parole violations relating to a case dating back to 2014 over embezzlement charges which Navalny believes were politically motivated.

Navalny ally calls for more protests

Meanwhile, Navalny’s allies called for more demonstrations across Russia on January 31 – Sunday – to demand his release.

If they take place, the protests would come just two days before Navalny is due in court on February 2, on charges of breaking the terms of the 2014 suspended sentence.

Leonid Volkov, the head of the opposition politician’s regional network, called on Twitter for Russians across the country to take to the streets “for Navalny’s freedom, for freedom for all, and for justice”.

Navalny’s team had earlier spurred on his call for the rallies over the weekend by releasing an investigation into a lavish property on Russia’s Black Sea coast that Navalny alleged is owned by Putin.

Several of his close associates, including prominent activist Lyubov Sobol and his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, were arrested last week, for calling on Russians to join the demonstrations. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was also detained and later released.

Putin on Monday denied ownership of the sprawling mansion.

“Nothing that is listed there as my property belongs to me or my close relatives, and never did,” he said.

Rising tensions with Western powers

Navalny’s imprisonment has led to increased friction between Russia and Western powers, including the United States and European Union.

The Kremlin has said it will not heed calls by three EU countries – former Soviet republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – for sanctions over his case because it is a domestic matter.

The EU on Monday was considering fresh sanctions on Russia over Navalny’s case, and the Kremlin’s handling of the weekend’s protests, during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels.

Russia on Sunday accused the US of interfering in its domestic affairs over Navalny’s detention.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov took particular issue with a US embassy “demonstration alert” that warned US citizens in Russia of possible unrest, telling a state TV channel on Sunday that Washington’s interference in Russian domestic affairs was “absolute”.

“Of course, those publications are inappropriate,” Peskov said.

“And of course, indirectly, they are absolute interference in our internal affairs.”

A US embassy spokeswoman told AFP that it was “routine practice” for US embassies and consulates to issue safety messages to American citizens abroad.

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China’s Xi Jinping ‘most dangerous’ to free societies, says George Soros

News Agency nabakhabar — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 08:57:22 +0000

Mr Soros warned that artificial intelligence and machine learning could be used to entrench totalitarian control in the country.

He said this scenario presented an “unprecedented danger”.

But he said the Chinese people were his “main source of hope”.

“China is not the only authoritarian regime in the world but it is the wealthiest, strongest and technologically most advanced,” he said, noting concerns too about Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

‘Security risk’

“This makes Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of open societies,” he said.

Mr Soros, a prominent donor to the Democratic Party in the US, also criticised the Trump administration’s stance towards China.

“Instead of waging a trade war with practically the whole world, the US should focus on China,” he said.

He urged Washington to crack down on Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and ZTE, which he said present an “unacceptable security risk for the rest of the world”.

More broadly, Mr Soros cautioned that repressive regimes could utilise technology to control their citizens, in what he called “a mortal threat to open societies”.

The 88-year-old Hungarian-born Jewish businessman, who survived Nazi occupation by forging identity documents, became infamous for his involvement in the devaluation of the British pound, known as Black Wednesday.

But it is his philanthropic and political activities that have made him a divisive figure in the US, Europe and beyond.

Bribes

He has spent billions of his own money funding human rights projects and liberal democratic ventures around the world, and has become a frequent target for criticism by right-wing groups due to his support for liberal causes.

Much of the criticism aimed at him has been criticised as having anti-Semitic undertones.

Last year, a suspect package was found in a post box at his home in New York.

Huawei warns of move to ‘welcoming’ nations
China ‘will not seek to dominate’

Mr Soros used his Davos speech last year to lambast tech giants such as Facebook, and what he considered to be their corrosive effect on democratic systems.

But this year, he directed his wrath towards Beijing, and particularly its controversial “Belt and Road” investment plan, which pays for road, rail and sea links to boost trade with countries around the world.

“It was designed to promote the interests of China, not the interests of the recipient countries,” he said.

“Its ambitious infrastructure projects were mainly financed by loans, not by grants, and foreign officials were often bribed to accept them.”

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