The National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in Laos has announced that the country is facing a third wave of coronavirus infections.
Dr. Lattanaxay Phetsouvanh, Director-General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, said that a rise in cases of the Omicron variant may be causing the country to experience its third wave.
“The number of daily cases is trending upward in some provinces, particularly in Vientiane Capital,” he said.
“Although the numbers were recently quite low, sometimes below 200 cases per day, we are seeing higher numbers now during this new outbreak.”
Health officials said that during random sampling in the nation’s capital, nine out of ten patients were confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant.
Dr. Lattanaxay said that Laos should take into account the experiences of neighboring countries, where case numbers increased rapidly within one to two months after the Omicron variant was identified in the community.
He said that although deaths from the Omicron variant are typically fewer than those caused by Delta and other Covid variants, the Omicron strain remains dangerous for persons over 60 years of age or those with underlying conditions.
Officials have stated on previous occasions that due to a rise in home-testing and home care, the officially reported daily case numbers may not reflect the real number of cases in the community at any one time.
