New COVID variant Omicron triggers alarm worldwide
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a new coronavirus variant named ‘Omicron’ to be “of concern“, triggering global alarm. The last coronavirus variant to receive this label was Delta.
Omicron had a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning, the WHO said.
The variant initially named B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on November 24, 2021. It has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
“Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant”, as compared to other variants of concern, WHO said.
Countries around the world are introducing travel bans and restrictions on southern African countries in an effort to contain the new Omicron variant. “The news about this new variant should make clearer than ever why this pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations,” US President Joe Biden said.
Health experts have said that vaccines will most likely protect against Omicron, but further studies are needed to test the effectiveness of the vaccines on the variant.