Omicron variant confirmed in 23 countries: WHO chief

Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the new Omicron coronavirus variant has been confirmed in 23 countries and their number is expected to rise.

Speaking at a press briefing here, Tedros said the emergence of the Omicron variant has attracted global attention.

“At least 23 of the WHO’s six regions have now reported cases of omicrons and we expect this number to increase. WHO takes this development extremely seriously,” Tedros said during a press conference.

“WHO takes this development very seriously, and every country too. But we shouldn’t be surprised. This is what viruses do. And this is what this virus will continue to do, as long as we allow it to continue to spread.” give,” he added.

Tedros said the WHO is learning more about omicron all the time, but there is still more to learn about its impact on transmission, the severity of the disease, and the effectiveness of trials, therapeutics and vaccines.

“Several WHO advisory groups have met over the past few days to evaluate the emerging evidence, and prioritize the studies needed to answer these questions,” he said.

Earlier, the head of the UN health agency has criticized the “blunt” and “blanket” measures taken by countries over the past few days to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.

In a statement on Tuesday, the WHO director-general said it was “deeply concerned” that Botswana and South Africa, where the new variant was first identified, were being “punished by others for doing the right thing”. “.

Dozens of countries have imposed travel restrictions on southern African countries since the mutation was discovered late last week.

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