What is the omicron variant

Last week, scientists in South Africa discovered a new version of the virus that appears to be behind the recent surge in #COVID-19 infections in the country's most populous province.?Since then, stock markets have plunged, some public gatherings have been canceled and countries around the world have suspended inbound flights.?

Over the weekend, a growing number of countries found this new mutation among travelers.?Portugal has found 13 cases linked to the new variant among members of a football club, all but one of whom had recently traveled to South Africa.?

On Friday, WHO designated it a "variant of concern," its most serious designation for a #COVID-19 variant, and called it "#Omicron," the latest entry in its Greek alphabet classification system designed to avoid stigmatizing the source and simplify understanding.?

Scientists knew omicron was genetically different from previous variants, including the beta and δ variants, but did not know whether those genetic changes made it more infectious or dangerous.?So far, there is no indication that the mutation causes a more severe disease.?

Recommended actions for countries?：

Since omicron has been designated as a variant of concern, #WHO recommends that countries take several actions, including strengthening surveillance and case sequencing;?Sharing genome sequences on public databases, such as GISAID;?Report initial or cluster cases to WHO;?Field investigations and laboratory assessments to better understand whether omicron has different transmission or disease characteristics or affects the effectiveness of vaccines, treatments, diagnostics or public health and social measures.?See the Nov. 26 announcement for details.?

Countries should continue to implement effective public health measures, using risk analysis and scientific methods, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 across the board.?They should improve some public health and medical capacity to cope with the increase in cases.?WHO is providing support and guidance to countries in their preparedness and response.?

In addition, there is an urgent need to address inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that vulnerable populations around the world, including health workers and older people, receive first and second doses of vaccines alongside equitable access to treatment and diagnosis.?

Recommended actions for people to take?：

The most effective measure an individual can take to reduce transmission of the COVID-19 virus is to maintain a physical distance of at least 1 meter from others;?Wear a proper mask;?Open Windows for ventilation;?Avoid poorly ventilated or crowded places;?Keep hands clean;?Coughing or sneezing into a bent elbow or tissue;?When it's their turn to be vaccinated.?

WHO will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available, including the tag-VE meeting after the meeting. In addition, information will be made available on WHO's digital and social media platforms.??

MOKOSmart can provide #contacttracing solutions for your social distancing, it can track the people you connected and when the distance is over the safety limit, the alarm will be triggered.