Omicron in 38 countries
Says WHO; India detects 4th case of the Covid variant
The Omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries but no deaths have yet been reported, the WHO said on Friday, as authorities worldwide rushed to stem the heavily mutated Covid-19 strain's spread amid warnings that it could damage the global economic recovery.
The World Health Organization has warned it could take weeks to determine how infectious the variant is, whether it causes more severe illness and how effective treatments and vaccines are against it.
"We're going to get the answers that everybody out there needs," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said.
The new variant could also slow global economic recovery, just as the Delta strain did, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday.
"Even before the arrival of this new variant, we were concerned that the recovery, while it continues, is losing somewhat momentum," she said.
Meanwhile, India reported its fourth case of the Omicron variant yesterday, government officials said, as total Covid-19 cases inched closer to the 35 million mark.
Officials said a 33-year old man from Maharashra who travelled to Mumbai from South Africa via Dubai has been tested positive with the Omicron variant, reports our New Delhi correspondent.