On Sunday, Denmark health officials said the country had seen a “concerning” jump to 183 confirmed cases of the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2, according to Medical Xpress.
The SSI public health institute said the number of cases represented a tripling of confirmed cases in 48 hours, from 18 confirmed and 42 suspected cases on Friday.
Previously, there were just 182 cases across all of the European Union, including Norway and Iceland, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
In Europe, Denmark is one of the most advanced countries in the sequencing of COVID-19 variants. The nation often detects more cases more quickly than its neighboring countries, which does not necessarily indicate higher rates of COVID infection.
SSI chief said the surge in omicron cases was nevertheless “concerning,” adding, “there are now chains of infection where the variant is found in people who have not traveled abroad or been in contact with travelers.”
The ECDC said the new variant had been reported in 17 nations in its region.
Before Denmark’s announcement, the ECDC wrote on its website, “The majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to countries in Africa, with some having taken connecting flights at other locations between Africa and Europe.”
It also said, nevertheless, “several EU/EEA countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain) detected cases without an epidemiological link to areas where community transmission of the Omicron variant is documented or presumed.” “This indicates that undetected community transmission could be ongoing in these countries,” it added.
