Omicron peaking in some countries, but no one is ‘out of the woods yet’: WHO

Peaks in Omicron infections in some countries may be a sign of good news, but no one is out from under COVID-19's grip yet, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

Omicron COVID-19 infections appear to be peaking in some countries, but no one is “out of the woods yet,” the head of the World Health Organization says.

The highly contagious variant is continuing to drive up COVID-19 cases across the world, with 18 million logged last week — up from 15 million the week earlier, the WHO said Tuesday.

While some countries are seeing cases peak, giving hope the worst of the wave is starting to end, it shouldn’t be seen as a sign that countries are in the clear, said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“For many countries, the next few weeks remain really critical for health workers and health systems,” Tedros said.

“I urge everyone to do their best to reduce risk of infection so that you can help take pressure off the system.”

The Omicron variant, which was first detected in late November, is responsible for a significant resurgence of COVID-19 acround the world.

It is crowding out the Delta variant as the globally dominant strain of the virus, driving up infections and hospitalizations in countries like Canada. It has also put a strain on testing demand, forcing governments to triage tests, resulting in an under-reporting of daily infections.

Canadian health officials have projected the country’s Omicron wave could peak this month at 170,000 cases a day, while hospital admissions could also peak at 2,000 a day.