Omicron variant now in 57 countries, may change course of COVID-19 pandemic, warns WHO chief

The WHO has called on all countries to increase surveillance, testing and sequencing, and to submit more data to the WHO Clinical Data Platform using an updated online case reporting form.

Geneva: Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, said the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO).

With the Omicron variant now present in 57 countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned at a press briefing that it can spread more rapidly than previous variants, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We are now starting to see a consistent picture of rapid increase in transmission (rates), although for now the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify," he said. "Emerging data from South Africa suggest increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, but more data are needed to draw firmer conclusions," he added.