WHO: So far no deaths from Omicron have been reported

The WHO estimates the probability that Omicron will spread worldwide as “increased”. It has classified the variant as “worrying”.

 Deaths as a result of an infection with the coronavirus variant Omicron have not yet been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier announced on Friday in Geneva. The WHO is collecting the data on the spread of the new coronavirus variant and evaluating it. But he had “not yet seen any reports of deaths in connection with Omicron,” added Lindmeier.

The WHO spokesman emphasized that “all findings” on the spread of Omicron would be collected by the WHO. This will mean that knowledge will expand over time, especially if the countries concerned are specifically looking for the Omicron variant. So there will be an accumulation of knowledge, but “hopefully not about deaths”.

Omicron rated the risk as “very high”

The new variant was first discovered in South Africa a week ago. It has now been detected in around two dozen countries, including Germany. Omicron has 32 mutations compared to the previously common coronavirus, so it is to be feared that the variant will be more easily transmitted.

The WHO estimated the probability that Omicron will spread worldwide as “increased”. She has already classified the variant as “worrying” and assessed the risk from Omikron as “very high”.