Delta-related Covid-19 cases are on the decrease around the world, for the first time since the variant was discovered last April, as the new Omicron strain continues to spread.
According to the World Health Organization’s weekly report, Omicron had been reported in 77 countries and “probably” spread to most nations undetected “at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.”
The Delta variant, which previously accounted for 99.8% of the world’s cases, dropped to 99.2% according to the latest tally by the GISAID database in collaboration with the WHO.
Omicron accounted for 0.4% of the total of cases detected through GISAID in the past 60 days, a rise from last week’s 0.1%, according to the WHO’s report.
First detected in South Africa and reported to the WHO on November 24, Omicron has a large number of mutations and early data suggests it can be resistant to vaccines.
The WHO warned in its weekly briefing that countries are dismissing Omicron as a mild variant, though it is more contagious, it’s yet unclear whether it causes milder or more severe disease than previous strains.
“We have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril,” WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Even if omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems,” he warned.
The variant now accounts for three percent of cases in the United States, while the UK on Monday confirmed what is thought to be the first Omicron-related death.
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