Omicron is ‘biggest current threat' to world health: G7

Biden Warns Of ‘Winter Of Death’ Among Unvaxxed; Drop In SA Hosp Cases

Even as scientists race to understand more about the Omicron variant and the threat it poses, one fact is abundantly clear: It spreads quickly everywhere it lands. In South Africa, Omicron spread twice as fast as the highly infectious Delta variant. In Denmark, Omicron cases are doubling roughly every two days.

The G7 on Thursday called the Omicron variant the “biggest current threat to global public health”, saying its emergence meant it was “more important than ever” for countries to “closely cooperate”. The ministers focussed on global access to diagnostics, genome sequencing, vaccines and therapeutics in a bid to combat its spread. “They also agreed on the increasing importance of booster campaigns and regular testing,” a statement said.