The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said that the combination of Delta and Omicron variants of coronavirus is driving a tsunami of COVID-19 cases. 

The statement came as record new cases were reported from the United States and countries across Europe. France recorded the highest ever daily numbers in Europe for the second consecutive day, at 208,000 new cases. The US has recorded an average of 265,427 daily cases over the last week, suggest data from Johns Hopkins. Denmark, Portugal, the UK and Australia have also been reporting record number of cases. Poland reported 794 fatalities related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, its highest figure in the fourth COVID wave. Over three-fourth of these were not vaccinated.

Dr Tedros cautioned that the ‘twin threat’ of the two variants was the reason behind the overall case burden. He added that this will put huge pressure on the already exhausted healthcare workers, and health systems… (BBC, December 30, 2021)