On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said that the risk posed by the Omicron variant of coronavirus is very high, as cases of COVID-19 increased by 11% worldwide last week.

The global health agency stated in its weekly update on COVID-19 that the new variant is behind rapid virus surges in several countries, including those where it has already outdone the Delta variant. The agency said that evidence has consistently shown that Omicron has a growth advantage over Delta as it has a doubling time of 2-3 days. The rapid growth rate could be due to a combination of immune evasion and increased transmissibility of the new variant. 

However, the agency emphasized that there has been a 29% decrease in the incidence of cases in South Africa, where the variant first emerged… (ET Healthworld – AFP, December 29, 2021)