TIRANA, Feb. 3 – There are signs that the Omicron-driven wave of COVID-19 infections in Albania might have peaked, several health experts said Thursday.
The pandemic situation did see some improvement over the past week, with a decrease in the seven-day new infection numbers and the hospitalization and mortality rates not following the large increase in new infection numbers, a testament to vaccines doing their job, experts noted.
While some of the lower numbers could also be attributed to lower testing, especially on the weekends, the percentage of tests that come up positive have also declined.
For example, the numbers of newly-infected fell by 36.4 percent, while tests were reduced by 27.8 percent. The positivity ratio recorded a moderate decrease, from 30.7 percent in the Jan. 18-24 to 27.1 last week.
Tirana continues to be the pandemic’s hotspot with 7,702 active cases as of Feb. 2, according to official numbers, down from the peak of 11,409 on Jan. 21.
An improvement was also observed in terms of the number of victims, which dropped to 34 out of 41 that were registered in the period of Jan. 18-24, although Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 marked a higher than usual toll of 7 and 9 fatalities.
Hospitalizations are stable or declining, with the highest number reaching 168 patients in late January while it is currently 128 on Feb. 2.
Albania’s improved data comes as the World Health Organization’s Europe director says the continent could soon enter a “long period of tranquility” in the pandemic.
WHO’s Hans Kluge said Europe’s high vaccination rates, the end of winter and the less severe nature of the Omicron variant were helping.
“This period of higher protection should be seen as a ‘ceasefire’ that could bring us enduring peace,” Kluge said in a press conference.
Several European countries are ending pandemic restrictions. Albania is currently keeping all its restrictions in place, until the expert panel in charge makes a ruling, but many of the local restrictions are not strictly enforced.
