WHO says Omicron in 38 countries, no deaths reported

The Omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries but no deaths have yet been reported, the WHO said on Friday, as authorities worldwide rushed to stem the heavily mutated Covid-19 strain's spread amid warnings that it could damage the global economic recovery. It  has warned it could take weeks to determine how infectious the variant is, whether it causes more severe illness and how effective treatments and vaccines are against it. "We're going to get the answers that everybody out there needs," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said.

The new variant could also slow global economic recovery, just as the Delta strain did, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday. "Even before the arrival of this new variant, we were concerned that the recovery, while it continues, is losing somewhat momentum," she said. "A new variant that may spread very rapidly can dent confidence." In the US, two cases involved residents with no recent international travel history -- showing Omicron is already circulating inside the country. "This is a case of community spread," the Hawaii Health Department said.

Australia on Friday reported three students in Sydney had tested positive for the variant, despite a ban on non-citizens entering the country and restrictions on flights from southern Africa, with multiple countries rushing to limit travel from the region in the past week."It's quite a kick in the nuts," said Sabine Stam, who runs a South African tour company and whose customers are demanding refunds. "Everyone is too scared to set a new travel date," she said. In Norway, officials said at least 13 people who contracted Covid-19 after an office Christmas party in Oslo last week had the Omicron variant -- though so far they have only had mild symptoms, city health official Tine Ravlo told AFP. But the government ushered in restrictions in greater Oslo after fears of the cluster surfaced.