On November 24, a new variant of the COVID-19 pandemic which has ravaged the world for a long time was discovered by South African scientists. On November 26, the World Health Organisation designated the variant as one of high concern, and named it Omicron. Now, the variant appears to be hitting countries hard, with the European continent being the most affected by the virus.
As at December 9, the Omicron variant cases have been reported in more than 50 countries since it was first discovered in South Africa. However, the European Union has recorded a total of 337 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant to date, with Denmark recording the most (83), Portugal following at 37 cases and the Netherlands recording the third-highest at 36 cases.
The United Kingdom alone has seen 246 cases of the Omicron variant, with European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) reports saying the variant has a growth rate of about 35% per day. This report was as at December 6, 2021. As at December 8, the number of cases in the United Kingdom had grown to 437 and was said to have a growth rate of over 50%.
In comparison, all other countries outside the EU where the Omicron variant has been reported amount to a total of 1,121 confirmed cases. The United Kingdom presently has the highest number of cases outside the EU.
Looking at the growth rate of the Omicron variant, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the variant has a very high risk of spreading even wider than it is now. As the number of cases increase rapidly, the CDC predicts that it could be the primary strain among countries in the EU by February 2022.
The Omicron variant is already dominating some parts of the United Kingdom, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that the variant is now the dominant strain of COVID in London, overtaking the Delta variant. The exponential rate at which the variant is spreading has caused countries to establish new restrictions to slow the virus. France has introduced new restrictions, disallowing “leisure travel” and only permitting trips that are deemed essential.
