Already In Most Countries, Omicron Spreading At Unprecedented Rate, Says WHO

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was spreading at an alarming speed and appealed to the countries to adopt appropriate measures while Pfizer assured that its vaccine was effective against the deadly variant.

The primary schools in the Netherlands will have early closures as England braces for a new wave of infections and hospitalisations. While seeking to impose new COVID restrictions, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is up against a major parliamentary test.

First detected by South Africa, Omicron was reported to the WHO on November 24. The variant has a large number of mutations, keeping people on tenterhooks.

WHO supremo Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the variant had been reported in 77 countries and had “probably” spread to most nations undetected “at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant”, news agency AFP reported.

However, WHO expert Bruce Aylward cautioned against “jumping to a conclusion that this is a mild disease”. “We could be setting ourselves up for a very dangerous situation,” he added.

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