The US and Australia became the latest countries to confirm locally transmitted cases of the variant, as Omicron infections pushed SA's total cases past three million.
Ridhwaan Suliman, a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, spoke with eNCA's Sally Burdett about the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections in South Africa. Courtesy ofGENEVA - The Omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries but no deaths have yet been reported, the WHO said on Friday, as authorities worldwide rushed to stem the heavily mutated Covid-19 strain's spread amid warnings that it could damage the global economic recovery.
"We're going to get the answers that everybody out there needs," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said.The WHO said on Friday it had still not seen any reports of deaths related to Omicron, but the new variant's spread has led to warnings that it could cause more than half of Europe's Covid cases in the next few months.
The emergence of Omicron was the"ultimate evidence" of the danger of unequal global vaccination rates, Red Cross head Francesca Rocca said. In the US, two cases involved residents with no recent international travel history -- showing Omicron is already circulating inside the country."This is a case of community spread," the Hawaii Health Department said.
"It's quite a kick in the nuts," said Sabine Stam, who runs a South African tour company and whose customers are demanding refunds."Everyone is too scared to set a new travel date," she said.
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