The risk may be two or three times greater with Omicron compared to Delta, said IATA medical advisor David Powell.
The growth of the novel variant of Covid-19, Omicron, is thought to have occurred as a result of international airline services during the early stages of the outbreak. Omicron might increase the danger of contracting Covid-19 during a journey, according to an airline industry medical specialist who cautioned that the airport had a larger probability of the virus spreading than the aeroplane itself. More than 100 nations have verified the highly infectious Omicron form, which has swiftly become one of the most prevalent sources for new Covid-19 cases in the United States and South Africa.
“The relative risk has probably increased, just as the relative risk of going to the supermarket or catching a bus has increased with Omicron”, warned Dr David Powell, medical advisor at the IATA (International Air Transport Association), on Tuesday.
“Whatever the risk was with Delta, we would have to assume the risk would be two to three times greater with Omicron, just as we've seen in other environments,” said Dr Powell while talking to Bloomberg.
The Omicron variant includes 32 mutations in the portion of the virus that infects human cells, and it has quickly expanded over the world, such as the United States, South Africa, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. It has already surpassed the extremely contagious Delta type as the leading source of new infections in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The majority of the information on the virus's spread on planes dates back to March 2020, then there were widely accessible tests, masks, and boarding procedures, according to Powell. He went on to say that the risk of contracting Covid-19 on a flight triggered by the Delta version was “low”, while the exact magnitude of that threat was unknown.
There is significantly more chaotic mobility in an airport, and therefore more chances for face-to-face contact. Flow of air has been restricted in general. Airport ventilation rates are only a tenth of what they are throughout a flight, according to him. The “riskiest” portion of plane travel, according to Sheldon H Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois, seems to be the hour before and after flights.
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 "Omicron increases risk of catching COVID-19 in airplanes? Medical advisor to major airlines says this")
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