GENEVA: The Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.
Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus’ ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both, the WHO said in an update.
The agency designated Omicron a variant of concern on Nov. 26, soon after it was first detected, and much is still not known about it, including the severity of the illness it causes.
“There are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron,” the WHO said. “More data are needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and pre-existing immunity.”
Cases in the United Kingdom of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus jumped sharply in the latest daily figures provided by British health authorities on Saturday.
Confirmed Omicron-variant COVID-19 cases hit 24,968 as of Friday, up by just over 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier, the UK Health Security Agency said.
The highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading quickly in Italy, with new cases identified in the country’s north and south, the national health institute (ISS) said on Saturday.
The ISS reported that its network of regional laboratories had so far identified 84 Omicron cases, “a strong acceleration” from 55 early on Friday.
Thirty-three of the cases were found in the northern region of Lombardy, around Milan, and a further 20 in the southern region of Campania, centred on Naples.
Italy reported 120 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday against 123 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 28,632 from 26,109. The Dutch government is expected to announce new measures Saturday to brake the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant after its scientific advisers recommended tighter curbs, local media reported.
The government will brief the media at 1800 GMT on the outcome of an emergency meeting being held on Saturday afternoon.
According to the media reports, the panel of experts has called for a complete lockdown of businesses, with the exception of essential retailers such as supermarkets and pharmacies.
That would mean that the hospitality sector, non-essential stores and the cultural sector would be closed, and the experts have also recommended that schools and colleges be shut.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced earlier this week that primary schools would close earlier for the Christmas holidays because of the Omicron variant.
Other restrictions in place since November 28, such as the closure of non-essential shops, bars and restaurants between 5:00 pm and 5:00 am, were extended until January 14.
People are not allowed to entertain more than four visitors in their homes.
The measures have led to a decline in infections of 21 percent in the week from December 7-14, according to official health authority data.
The Netherlands also recorded a “slight decline” in hospital admissions, but authorities insisted that Omicron was still “a cause for concern”.
Nearly 86 per cent of all adults in the Netherlands have been vaccinated. — Agencies
