No need for lockdown to deal with spread of new COVID-19 variants

Two new COVID-19 variants, Pirola and Eris, do not require a return to strict lockdown measures, a Turkish genetics and biology expert said, but warned the elderly and those with chronic illnesses to take personal precautions, such as getting vaccinated and wearing masks. 

Professor Nedime Serakinci, the biology and genetics expert, as well as health adviser to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Presidency, told Anadolu that there is no reason for lockdowns due to these two news coronavirus variants.

“The available data indicate that the Pirola variant is no more severe or dangerous than Omicron,” Serakinci said, adding that “as always, people in risk groups need to protect themselves during seasonal transitions.”

According to Serakinci, severe flu cases are expected to be increased in this year’s winter months.

“I do not expect to have a much more difficult winter than usual if we pay the same attention as we do when flu and influenza are widespread,” she added.

Noting that the Pirola variant, presented by the code BA.2.86, is thought to have developed from the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron that was responsible for the rapidly increasing number of cases in early 2022, Serakinci said “now BA.2.86 has been identified and can be routinely monitored and examined.”

The Eris variant, on the other hand, she said, was detected in February and began to be talked about more as of July. “The data, we have, show that the Eris variant is more common than the Pirola variant,” she explained.

This variant has been categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant of interest,” meaning that countries should monitor it more closely than other strains because of mutations that could make it more contagious or severe.

According to the available data on these two variants, countries have had high rates of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the last three months, and there are signs that the virus may spread further.

Last week, the WHO chief said that the UN health body continues to see "concerning trends" for COVID-19 ahead of the winter season in the northern hemisphere.

"Deaths are increasing in some parts of the Middle East and Asia, intensive care unit admissions are increasing in Europe and hospitalizations are increasing in several regions," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing in Geneva.