WHO sounds alarm about Omicron as COVID-19 infections of past 10 weeks exceed those in all of 2020 – CBC

‘This virus is dangerous and it continues to evolve before our very eyes,’ says director-general

Feb 01, 2022

The World Health Organization chief said Tuesday that 90 million cases of coronavirus have been reported since the Omicron variant was first identified 10 weeks ago — amounting to more cases than in all of 2020.

With many countries easing their restrictive measures amid public fatigue about them, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned that Omicron should not be underestimated even though it has shown to bring less severe illness than earlier variants.

Tedros, who goes by his first name, cited “a very worrying increase in deaths in most regions of the world.”

“We are concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines — and because of Omicron’s high transmissibility and lower severity — preventing transmission is no longer possible and no longer necessary,” he told a regular WHO briefing on the pandemic.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/omicron-who-more-cases-in-10-weeks-than-2020-1.6335451