- Names new Variant “Omicron”
The World Health Organization on Friday declared the recently-discovered “B.1.1.529 strain” of Covid-19, a variant of concern, naming it “Omicron” after a Greek alphabet.
A WHO advisory panel on Friday stated that early evidence also showed that the new variant poses an increased risk of re-infection compared with other highly transmissible strains.
According to WHO’s COVID-19 Technical Lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, Omicron was designated a “variant of concern” because it has some worrying properties, such as large number of mutations.
She added that multiple studies are under way in South Africa and other countries to better understand the severity, transmissibility and characteristics of Omicron.
Since its emergence in South Africa, the new variant has since been detected in Belgium, Israel, Botswana and Hong Kong, causing the European Union and the United Kingdom to impose restrictions on travellers from several countries in southern Africa.
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