New Covid strain “Omicron” classified as variant of concern

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday declared the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19, first detected in southern Africa, to be a variant of concern and has given it the name Omicron. The variant of Covid-19 was announced by scientists in South Africa on Thursday and was later detected in Israel, Belgium, and Hong Kong.
The classification puts Omicron into the most-troubling category of Covid-19 variants, along with the globally-dominant Delta, plus its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.
‘Omicron is named as a variant of concern because it has some concerning properties, this variant has a large number of mutations, and some of this mutation has some worrying characteristics’, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19.
She also urged people to reduce their chances of catching the virus.
She said “We understand that people are concerned,”
“What’s really important as an individual is to lower your exposure.”
“These proven public health measures, have never been more important, distancing, wearing of a mask making sure it’s over your nose, clean hands, making sure you avoid crowded spaces, be in rooms with good ventilation, “and when it’s your turn, get vaccinated”.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop flights from those countries which are affected by a new variant of coronavirus, omicron.
PM Narendra Modi chaired a comprehensive meeting that lasted for almost 2 hours to review the public health preparedness & vaccination-related situation for Covid-19 on Saturday.
PM highlighted the need for monitoring all international arrivals, their testing as per guidelines, with a specific focus on countries identified ‘at risk’. PM also asked officials to review plans for easing international travel restrictions in light of the emerging new evidence stated by PMO, as reported by ANI
In order to prevent the spread of the new strain, the United States, Canada, Russia, Britain, Israel, and a host of other countries have banned all travel from the country to prevent it from taking hold in populations and spreading quickly.