The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of a very high overall risk of the Omicron variant spreading and overwhelming healthcare systems across the world.
The agency cautioned that the highly transmissible variant continued to fuel record outbreaks in many countries.
Many countries are registering record rates of COVID-19 infections as the omicron variant takes hold across the world.
Much of Europe, the US, China, Australia and other nations all recorded a surge in cases on Tuesday through Wednesday.
France recorded the highest new infection rate in Europe, with 208,000 new cases on Wednesday, even as Germany is expected to see similar rises in Omicron cases.
Amid the dramatic rise, a warning from the WHO prompted strict quarantine rules for arrivals and widespread mask-wearing to slow the spread of the highly contagious variant.
In India, which has been getting back to normal after a devastating outbreak earlier this year, Omicron is once again raising fears
According to the WHO, Omicron’s rapid growth “will still result in large numbers of hospitalisations, particularly amongst unvaccinated groups and will also “cause widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services.
As global COVID-19 infections hit a record high over the past week, the WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that: “Delta and Omicron are now twin threats driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalisation and deaths.”
Speaking at a news briefing, Tedros said it was a concern that the world was witnessing a Tsunami of cases.
“Right now, Delta and Omicron are twin threats that are driving up cases to record numbers, which again is leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths.
“I am highly concerned that Omicron, being highly transmissible and spreading at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases.
“This is sad and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse and again disrupting lives and livelihoods.”
