GENEVA: The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that the risk posed by the Omicron variant is still “very high”, following an 11 percent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases globally last week.
The WHO said in its COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update, Omicron is behind rapid virus spikes in several countries, in which they have already overtaken the major delta variant.
“The overall risk associated with the new version of the concern Omicron is very high,” the United Nations health agency said.
“Consistent evidence suggests that the Omicron version has a growth advantage over the delta version with a doubling time of two to three days and that rapid increases in the incidence of cases are seen in many countries,” including the UK and the United States, where It has become a staple.
“The rapid growth rate is likely a combination of both immune evasion and the intrinsic increased transmissibility of the Omron variant.”
However, the WHO highlighted a 29 percent reduction in the incidence of cases seen in South Africa – the country that first reported the version to WHO on 24 November.
It said early data from Britain, South Africa and Denmark – which currently has the highest per capita infection rates in the world – suggested the risk of hospitalization was lower for Omicron than for Delta.
However, further data were needed to understand the severity of omicron in terms of clinical markers including oxygen use, mechanical ventilation, and death.
There was also a need for more data on how severity may have been affected by previous COVID infection, or vaccination.
“It is also expected that corticosteroids and interleukin 6 receptor blockers will continue to be effective in the management of patients with severe disease,” the WHO said.
“However, preliminary data suggest that monoclonal antibodies may be less capable of neutralizing the omicron variant.”
In the week ended Sunday, the number of new cases globally increased by 11 per cent compared to the previous week after a gradual increase from October, while the number of new deaths fell by four per cent, the WHO said.
“This corresponds to just over five million new cases and more than 44,000 new deaths,” the Geneva-based organization said.
The highest number of new cases were reported from America, Britain, France and Italy.
Hong Kong to tighten air crew quarantine rules amid Omicron threat.