Omicron continues to sweep world with 18M cases last week

GENEVA – As Covid-19’s Omicron variant continues sweeping the world with 18 million cases last week, people in countries with low coronavirus vaccination rates are at risk of severe illness and death, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

“The number of deaths remains stable for the moment, but we are concerned about the impact Omicron is having on already exhausted health workers and overburdened health systems,” Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a coronavirus webinar. “Make no mistake, Omicron is causing hospitalizations and deaths, and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities.”

In countries where cases seem to have peaked, it provides hope that the worst of the latest wave is over, “but no country is out of the woods yet,” he said.

“I remain particularly concerned about many countries that have low vaccination rates, as people are many times more at risk of severe illness and death if they’re unvaccinated,” Tedros said. READ MORE