The World Health Organization said on Friday that the omicron Covid-19 variant has been detected in 38 countries, up from 23 two days ago, with early data suggesting the strain is more contagious than delta.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, said during a Q&A on the group's social media channels Friday that they see an increasing growth rate. We have reports of omicron in 38 countries.
Van Kerkhove said that there is a suggestion that there is increased transmissibility, but that we need to understand if it is more or less transmissible compared to delta.
It is too early to know the severity of disease caused by omicron. She said that early reports of mild symptoms in some of the first cases were based on a group of university students who tend to be younger and experience more mild symptoms than older adults.
Initial reports said it was more mild, but it is too soon. Everyone who is exposed to the disease regardless of the variant will start out with a mild disease. It may stop with mild disease or it may take some time.
Public health officials haven't seen an increased risk of death yet, but there are increasing hospitalizations in South Africa.
The WHO executive director said that public health officials initially saw mild cases with the alpha and delta variant. If the variant causes more severe disease, it could take two weeks to see increased mortality associated with omicron.
Ryan said it takes time. In previous waves of the Pandemic, we saw that as well. When the incidence rate goes up, it can take a week or two for hospital admissions and deaths to occur.
There is a reporting bias at the moment which may obscure how bad the variant really is. Many people who have tested positive for omicron were healthy travelers, which could explain why the symptoms reported so far are mild.
Van Kerkhove said that if you are sick, you shouldn't be traveling. There is a bias in terms of what is being detected at the moment, but that will change over time.
