Omicron scare: WHO chief issues CHILLING warning as new COVID-19 variant spreads to 57 countries

Amid rising fears over new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned that certain features of Omicron siggest that the new variant of COVID-19 could have a major impact on the course of coronavirus pandemic and the time has come to take steps to curb the spread of Omicron.

Addressing a press conference, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that governments must take measures to tighten their responses to COVID-19 and speed up vaccination programmes in order to curb the spread of Omicron. It is to be noted that cases of Omicron variant have now been reported from 57 countries.

“We call on all countries to increase surveillance, testing, and sequencing,” he told a media briefing. “… Any complacency now will cost lives. We are now starting to see a consistent picture of the rapid increase in transmission (rates), although for now the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify,” he said.

“Emerging data from South Africa suggest increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, but more data are needed to draw firmer conclusions,” added the WHO chief.

In a related development, WHO emergency director Mike Ryan said that Omicron appears to be highly transmissible and steps must be taken to break chains of transmission. Earlier, WHO experts had said that while some studies claim that Omicron causes milder symptoms than Delta variant, it is still too early to reach any final conclusion.