Omicron variant in 57 countries-WHO, Denmark ends most curbs

The WHO on Tuesday said that a sub-variant of the fast-spreading and heavily mutated Omicron strain of the coronavirus has now been detected in as many as 57 countries. In its weekly epidemiological update, the World Health Organization said that the variant, which accounts for over 93 percent of all coronavirus specimens collected in the past month, counts several sub-lineages: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3. The BA.1 and BA.1.1 -- the first versions identified -- still account for over 96 percent of all the Omicron sequences uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, it said.

The UN health agency said little was known yet about the differences between the sub-variants, and called for studies into its characteristics, including its transmissibility, how good it is at dodging immune protections and its virulence. Several recent studies have hinted that BA.2 is more infectious than the original Omicron. Maria Van Kerkhove, one of the WHO's top experts on Covid, told reporters Tuesday that information about the sub-variant was very limited, but that some inital data indicated BA.2 had "a slight increase in growth rate over BA.1" Omicron in general is known to cause less severe disease than previous coronavirus variants like Delta, and Van Kerkhove said there so far was "no indication that there is a change in severity" in the BA.2 sub-variant.

Meanwhile, Denmark took the European Union lead on Tuesday by scrapping most pandemic restrictions as the Scandinavian country no longer considers Covid-19 “a socially critical disease”. European nations elsewhere had a patchwork of different approaches, with some relaxing virus measures while others tightened them. Officials say the reason for the Danish move is that while the omicron variant is surging in the country, it’s not placing a heavy burden on the health system and Denmark has a high vaccination rate. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish radio it’s too early to know if virus restrictions ever have to make a comeback.