WHO officials call for continuing the measures adopted to deal with the Covid delta variant against the Omicron
Much remains unknown about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, or if it makes people more seriously ill, and whether it can thwart the vaccine.
While a few regional countries are facing surges, Covid-19 cases and deaths in many others have decreased and plateaued, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr. Takeshi Kasai told reporters Friday in a virtual news conference broadcast from Manila, Philippines. “The positive news in all of this is that none of the information we have currently about omicron suggests we need to change the directions of our response."
Kasai said omicron has been designated a variant of concern because of the number of mutations and because early information suggests it may be more transmissible than other variants of the virus. Will travel bans halt the spread of Omicron?
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