Omicron total at around 150-200

There are currently 47 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in the country, but the real number is probably nearer 150-200, according to chief medical officer Lars Fodgaard Møller.

“Seven of the Omicron cases cannot be linked to any known infection chains, so it would be fair to say that this new variant is circulating in the Faroes,” he says.

It took two weeks from the time the first case of the Delta variant to be detected until Delta became the dominating variant in the country.

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“Although our contact tracing has gone fairly well so far, considering the ultra-transmissible nature of Omicron, we should expect Omicron to become dominant within a week.”

Møller says this new situation is a cause for concern despite reports that the new variant causes milder symptoms.

“We are seeing big spikes in new cases in the countries around us, and even if the symptoms may be milder, there will inevitably be some who develop severe illness and require hospital treatment,” he says.

“And it has always been our main objective not to overburden our hospitals.”

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Danish health authorities say that with the current daily figures, it is not unlikely to see 45,000 daily cases in Denmark by the end of the year.

“If we relate this number to the Faroese population, we would arrive at about 4-500 daily cases, which would obviously make it near impossible to carry out effective contact tracing.”

This, he adds, would also lead to an exponential increase in hospitalisations.

He has been in contact with the government and says that the current restrictions are likely to be extended.

For further information about Covid-19 in the Faroes, including daily figures, visit corona.fo.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.