A three-week-old baby with no known medical conditions has died of a severe Covid-19 infection in Qatar.
Health authorities in the country said the death was a “stark reminder” that people of all ages are at risk of complications from the virus. Although child fatalities are rare, “most countries around the world have sadly recorded deaths among young children”.
Record numbers of children have been admitted to hospital in countries including South Africa, the US and the UK since the emergence of the highly-contagious Omicron variant.
“The Ministry of Public Health confirms that a three-week-old baby has sadly died as a result of a severe infection from Covid-19,” said the Qatari Health Ministry in a statement on Sunday.
“The baby had no known medical or hereditary conditions.”
“This is only the second child to have died from Covid-19 in Qatar since the start of the pandemic.”
Studies have repeatedly shown Omicron is more mild than previous variants.
However, a study released by UK researchers on Friday found young children are “proportionally more likely” to be admitted to hospital with Omicron, compared to earlier strains.
But most cases are mild, they stressed.
Of the children admitted to hospital with Covid-19, 42 per cent were under the age of one, compared to around 30 per cent in previous waves. The data was released by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
“These are not particularly sick infants. In fact, they're coming in for short periods of time,” said study author Calum Semple, professor of child health and outbreak medicine at the University of Liverpool.
Studies have pointed to the reason why Omicron may cause less severe disease in adults, in particular.
Coronavirus across the globe — in pictures
The variant multiplies about 70 times quicker than original versions of the coronavirus in the bronchial tubes leading to the lungs and 10 times slower in the lung tissue itself.
That means it is less likely to damage the lungs.
But this process may explain why young children are being treated in record numbers.
Children under the age of 5 are more prone to bronchiolitis because their bronchial tubes are so small.
And when Omicron affects the upper respiratory tract, it can cause swelling of those tubes, leading to bronchiolitis and croup-like symptoms with a harsh barking cough.
Doctors in the US have said they are seeing more croup-like symptoms in children with the variant.
Most cases of croup are mild and can be treated at home. But it can become serious, particularly in very young children.
Some countries have been forced to reopen their specialist Covid wards for children because of increased demand in recent weeks.
The number of Covid-19 patients requiring treatment at a newly-reopened centre in Israel rose from 10 to 59 in one week.
Of those, 20 were reported to be in a serious condition.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
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