Robert Besser
15 Jan 2022, 19:59 GMT+10
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Based on the 7 million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022, the World Health Organization has warned that half of Europe will contract the Omicron Covid variant in the next six to eight weeks.
"Today, the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave, sweeping across the region on top of the Delta surge that all countries were managing until late 2021," the EU's Dr Hans Kluge told a news conference.
"How each country now responds must be informed by its epidemiological situation, available resources, vaccination uptake status and socio-economic context", he added.
Recent studies suggest that Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill than previous Covid variants, but it is highly contagious and can infect even those who are fully vaccinated.
The record number of people catching Omicron has left health systems under severe strains.
This week, the UK reported an additional 142,224 confirmed cases of the virus and 77 deaths, while France's Health Minister Olivier Veran warned last week that January would be difficult for his nation's hospitals.
In eastern Europe, Poland reported that 100,000 people had died from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
In Russia, top consumer health official Anna Popova told a meeting of the government's coronavirus task force that without action to control the spread of the virus, the daily number of new Covid cases there could reach 100,000.
Meanwhile, Pfizer said it would soon launch a version of its vaccine to offer special protection against Omicron as early as March. Health experts, however, say it is not yet clear whether this is needed.
Get a daily dose of Atlanta Leader news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Atlanta Leader.
More InformationAs China unleashed live-fire military exercises off the coast of Taiwan, simulating a real "reunification by force" operation in the ...
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - According to a legal official, a court in Myanmar has sentenced former leader Aung San Suu Kyi ...
BEIJING, China: Following a meeting between their foreign ministers, China and Nepal have agreed to build the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity ...
BEIJING, China: Several regions in China experienced temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, including the major southwestern city of Chongqing.The country's ...
SACRAMENTO, California: California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing to give a $1.4 billion government loan to extend the life of ...
NEW DELHI, India: A government order released to reporters this week said New Delhi will continue to enforce a mask ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. industrial stocks interrupted their five-day rally on Wednesday with all the major indices losing ...
BANGKOK, Thailand: Thailand seeks to invest $61.97 billion in its industrial eastern region over the next five years, in a ...
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: In a Twitter post published this week, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding said it had invested in Russian ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stock markets across the Asia Pacific region rallied on Wednesday.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 surged 353.86 ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh A preliminary investigation into the tragic crane accident that killed five people in Uttara on Monday has found ...
HANOI, Vietnam: The Vietnamese government is considering building a high-speed railway, with a possible cost of up to $58.7 billion, ...