WHO Renames New COVID-19 Variant ‘Omicron’
The World Health Organization on Friday declared the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19 to be a variant of concern, renaming it Omicron.
“Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology… the WHO has designated B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern, named Omicron,” the UN health agency said in a statement.
Meanwhile, EU officials holding an emergency meeting over the variant agreed on Friday to urge all 27 nations in the bloc to restrict travel from that region.