Omicron should not be dismissed as mild, follow all Covid protocols: World Health Organization

Countries can, and must, prevent the spread of Omicron with the proven health and social measures. Our focus must continue to be to protect the least protected and those at high risk," Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, said in a statement

New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday (December 18) urged countries in the South-East Asia Region to urgently scale-up public health and social measures as well as vaccinations to curtail further spread of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron. According to the global health body, the hyper mutant variant has spread to 77 countries so far.

"Countries can, and must, prevent the spread of Omicron with the proven health and social measures. Our focus must continue to be to protect the least protected and those at high risk," said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, in a statement.

From what we know so far, Omicron appears to spread faster than the Delta variant which has been attributed to the surge in cases across the world in the last several months, the Regional Director said. Emerging data from South Africa also suggests increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, she said, adding that there is still limited data on the clinical severity associated with Omicron. As studies are underway, further information to fully understand the clinical picture of those infected with Omicron is expected in the coming weeks.