Omicron variant will likely spread globally and could spark surges in infections, WHO warns

• The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a "very high" global risk, the WHO warned.
• The United Nations agency also said potential COVID-19 surges could have "severe consequences."

The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a "very high" global risk and potential COVID-19 surges could have "severe consequences," the World Health Organization warned.

"Given mutations that may confer immune escape potential and possibly transmissibility advantage, the likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high," the WHO said in a technical brief released Sunday.

"Depending on these characteristics, there could be future surges of COVID-19, which could have severe consequences, depending on a number of factors including where surges may take place," it added.

The Omicron variant, which contains more than 50 mutations, first emerged in South Africa where it has rapidly spread.

It is not yet clear how effective the available COVID-19 vaccines are against the variant.

As of Sunday, according to the WHO, no deaths linked to the Omicron variant had been reported.

"At present, local transmission has been reported in South Africa and there is evidence of spread to several countries in four WHO regions (African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, and Western Pacific regions)," the WHO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, said

"While most of the cases identified in these countries are travel-related, we expect this to change as more information becomes available," the WHO added. "Overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is thus considered very high."

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a special session of the World Health Assembly on Monday that the emergence of Omicron "underlines just how perilous and precarious our situation is."

"We're living through a cycle of panic and neglect," he said. "Hard-won gains could vanish in an instant. Our most immediate task, therefore, is to end this pandemic."

Ghebreyesus said that it is not yet known whether Omicron "is associated with more transmission, more severe diseases, more risk of infections, or more risk of evading vaccines."

"Scientists at WHO and around the world are working urgently to answer these questions," he said.