WHO: Omicron in 57 nations, hospitalisations likely to rise

Tedros Tells Countries To Act Now To Curb Spread; Britain Issues Restrictions That Include Rules On WFH, Vax Pass

Geneva: The Omicron variant has been reported in 57 nations and the number of patients needing hospitalisation is likely to rise as it spreads, the WHO said on Wednesday. The WHO, in its weekly epidemiological report, said more data was needed to assess the severity of disease caused by the Omicron variant and whether its mutations might reduce protection from vaccine-derived immunity. “Even if the severity is equal or potentially even lower than for Delta, it is expected that hospitalisations will increase if more people become infected and that there will be a time lag between an increase in the incidence of cases and in the incidence of deaths,” it said.

Governments need to reassess national responses and speed up vaccination programmes to tackle Omicron, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The variant’s global spread suggests it could have a major impact on the pandemic, and the time to contain it is now, Ghebreyesus said. The WHO noted early evidence from BioNTech-Pfizer of the effectiveness of their shot against Omicron and said it would publish a review of its stance on booster within days.