Geneva (Switzerland): Omicron variant should not be categorised as "mild" as it is hospitalising and killing people though it appears to produce less severe symptoms, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
Omicron, he said, is out-pacing the Delta variant and causing most of the new Covid infections leading to a surge in hospitalizations.
"While Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorised as mild. Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and it is killing people," Tedros said during a press conference.
"In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick, that it is overwhelming health systems around the world."
The world reported more than 9.5 million cases of coronavirus in the last week, according to WHO.
This set a new grim milestone in the planet’s fight against Covid-19 as cases rose by 71% compared to the week before.
The WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove urged citizens across the planet to put more purpose while following Covid-19 protocols. She said that people need to adhere strictly to Covid-19 preventative measures more than ever as Omicron runs rampant. “Do everything that we have been advising better, more comprehensively, more purposefully. We need people to hang in there and really fight,” Kerkhove said in a press briefing.
The number of new deaths across the globe decreased by 10 percent with over 41,000 new deaths reported from December 27 of 2021 to January 2 of this year, the WHO said.
All regions reported an increase in the incidence of weekly cases, with the Americas reporting the largest increase (100 percent), followed by South-East Asia (78 percent) and Europe (65 percent).
WHO said that while Africa still reported a weekly increase in the number of new deaths, all the other regions in the world reported a decrease as compared to the previous week.
Read: Omicron virus is infectious, not life-threatening: UP CM Yogi
