Rapid rise of Omicron likely to produce new variant: WHO

New Delhi, Jan 05: There is an increasing risk of a newer and more dangerous variant emerging with cases of Omicron surging, the World Health Organisation has said.

Although Omicron is said to be less severe, it is still spreading like wildfire. WHO senior emergencies officer, Catherine Smallwood sounded a note of caution and told AFP that the soaring infection rates could have an opposite effect.

The more Omicron spreads, the more it transmits and the more it replicates, she said. This could throw out a new variant, she also told AFP. Now Omicron is lethal and could cause death, but it is a bit less than Delta, she also said.

We are in a dangerous phase and are seeing infection rates rise very significantly in Europe and the full impact is not clear, she added. On an individual level there is a decreased level of hospitalisation.

However Omicron could pose a greater threat because of the sheer number of cases, she added.

When you see the cases rise so significantly, that is likely to generate a lot of people with severe disease, ending up in hospital and possibly going to due, she also said.