Virus researcher: The pandemic is a roller coaster

Infection rates are rising in some countries and falling in others. The pandemic is a roller coaster, a virus researcher said on Monday.

“The spread of the virus can vary – like a roller coaster. It’s about the timing and manner of introducing restrictions. Of course, it has a lot to do with how much testing is carried out,” virus researcher Ali Mirazimi at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden stated.

He says that the referent point one should use is how many people are admitted to the hospital. In Norway, infection rates have decreased at Christmas, but the number of inpatients has not decreased as much.

Several European countries have introduced new measures, many of them stricter than those introduced in Norway.

Different measures in different countries

“It has been very different in different countries since the beginning of the pandemic. Even within Europe, it goes up and down, depending on the restrictions.

“When you introduce them (i.e., the restrictions), you see an effect after a week or two, and when you open up, the spread can start again,” Mirazimi said.

The effect of the omicron variant on the spread of infection is still not fully clear.

“Data is starting to come in from England and Scotland, where it looks like there is less risk of ending up in the hospital if you become infected with omicron. It really does not matter much if there is 40 or 60% less risk, as many will need hospital help when there’s a high level of spread,” Mirazimi warned.

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