Omicron variant: Event cancelled better than life cancelled, says WHO

A number of countries have acted to try to halt the spread of the Omicron variant, including imposing travel curbs

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the Covid-19 disease, the world health body warned on Monday.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva, remarked, “An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled. It’s better to cancel now and celebrate later, than to celebrate now and grieve later.” “There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the briefing. “And it is more likely people vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 could be infected or re-infected,” Tedros said.

A number of countries have acted to try to halt the spread of the variant, including imposing travel curbs. The WHO has also said it would be “unwise” to conclude from early evidence that Omicron was a milder variant. Dr Tedros said that “all of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal”. But he said that everyone, “leaders and individuals”, had to make difficult decisions to protect people.