Omicron: How does it compare with other COVID-19 variants of concern?
Global News
The Omicron variant, first detected by South Africa, has become the latest and fifth variant of concern designated by the WHO since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The emergence of a new COVID-19 variant has raised alarm across the world, with several countries swiftly moving to impose travel bans in an effort to clamp down on its spread.
The Omicron variant — first identified in South Africa — was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.
It has become the fifth and latest variant of concern to be categorized as such since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A variant of concern has the potential for increased transmissibility, severity of illness or decreased effectiveness of vaccines, treatments and public health measures, according to WHO.
Cases of Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and now the Omicron variant have been detected in Canada.
Here is what we know so far about the Omicron variant and how it compares with the other variant of concern.
The B.1.1.529 variant, now officially called “Omicron” according to the WHO naming system, was first reported by South Africa on Nov. 24, the WHO said in a press release on Friday. The first known infection with the variant was from a specimen collected on Nov. 9.
Since then Omicron has been detected in at least 10 other countries across five continents.
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