“I haven’t seen any information reporting Omicron-related deaths”, Christian Lindmeier said at a regular UN press briefing in Geneva.
As more countries are testing to try to detect the new variant, “we will have more cases, more information, and – although I hope not – possibly deaths”, he stressed.
The new variant, classified as worrying by the WHO, was first detected in southern Africa but since the South African health authorities alerted the WHO on November 24, infections with Omicron have been observed in around 30 countries. on all continents.
If outside southern Africa, the first infections were generally linked to people who had traveled to the region, the first cases of local transmission are now appearing, in the United States or Australia for example.
The World Health Organization (WHO) judges “high” the “probability that Omicron will spread globally”, even if many unknowns remain: contagiousness, effectiveness of existing vaccines, severity of symptoms.
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