Omicron variant spreading at unprecedented rate – WHO

The World Health Organization has warned that the coronavirus variant Omicron was spreading at a rate not seen with previous strains and was likely present in most countries.

 

The discovery of Omicron was first announced in November by scientists in South Africa, which was the first to experience a surge in COVID-19 driven by the new variant.

 

“Seventy-seven countries have now reported cases of Omicron, and the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters during a media briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. (Foreign Agencies)