Omicron variant — These are the countries with the highest number of cases
Vaamanaa Sethi
- WHO, on December 1, said that 23 countries across the world have detected cases of the new Omicron strain.
- Concerns for the new variant are rising in India as well, but no confirmed case has been reported so far.
- These are the five countries where the highest number of Omicron cases have been reported so far.
“At least 23 countries from five of six WHO regions have now reported cases of Omicron and we expect the numbers to grow,” said Tedros Adhanom, WHO director-general during an update news briefing in Geneva.
He added that there is still more to learn about the effects, severity and transmissibility of the new variant.
However, concerns for the new variant are rising in India as well, but no confirmed case has been reported so far.
Here are 5 countries where the highest number of Omicron cases have been reported so far —
South Africa — 77 cases
South Africa, one of the first countries where the new Omicron COVID-19 strain was first detected, has so far reported 77 cases of the variant, according to news channel CNN. Also, COVID-19 cases in South Africa nearly doubled in one day, from 4,000 cases to now over 8,000 new cases, according to official statistics.
United Kingdom — 32 cases
According to news agency Reuters, the United Kingdom has so far reported 32 confirmed cases of Omicron strain of COVID-19. UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a call on December 1 to ramp up the COVID-19 booster drive to fend off the Omicron variant.
Botswana — 19 cases
One of the first countries to detect the new variant of COVID-19 has confirmed 19 cases so far. A senior Botswana health official on Tuesday said in an official statement that 15 cases out of 19 cases of Omicron strain detected so far are asymptomatic.
The Netherlands — 16 cases
According to several media reports, cases for Omicron strain were detected a week in the Netherlands before it was detected in South Africa. The Netherlands has so far reported 16 cases of Omicron COVID-19 variant, as per CNN.
Portugal — 13 cases
Portugal has so far detected 13 cases of Omicron COVID-19 strain, all tied to a soccer club, which was forced to take part in a top-flight game which was abandoned during the progress, according to Portugal’s national health institute.
Other countries like the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia have also so far confirmed cases for the new Omicron strain.
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