A woman is walking past a TV repair shop in Cape Town, South Africa, on the 26th (local time). The World Health Organization (WHO) is consulting with South African authorities regarding the detection of the new coronavirus variant 'B.1.1.529.60' in South Africa. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the newly discovered coronavirus variant (B.1.1.529) found in Southern Africa as a "variant of concern" and named it "Omicron".
On the 26th (local time), WHO stated that Omicron "has a large number of mutations" and explained the reason for designating it as a variant of concern by saying, "Preliminary evidence suggests that compared to other variants, there appears to be an increased risk of reinfection with this variant."
A variant of concern is classified as such when the transmissibility or fatality rate of the variant virus worsens, and resistance to current treatments or vaccines increases while initial investigations are underway.
WHO said, "In recent weeks, the number of infections has surged with the emergence of this variant," adding, "It appears that the number of cases of this variant is increasing in almost all regions of South Africa."
Meanwhile, WHO emphasized wearing masks, washing hands thoroughly, social distancing, ventilation, and vaccination.
WHO also urged countries to strengthen surveillance and genomic sequencing of COVID-19 variants, submit genome sequence data to public databases, and report the first outbreaks and cluster infection cases of variants of concern to WHO.
The new variant carries 32 genetic mutations in the "spike protein," raising concerns that it may have transmissibility as high as the Delta variant.
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