The World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “An event canceled is preferable to a life lost,” and that “tough decisions” must be made.
Many nations have taken steps to prevent the epidemic from spreading, including placing travel restrictions.
In the United States, Omicron is now the most common variety, with a market share of 73%.
The White House has denied that President Biden planned to “lock the country down” on Tuesday. However, Mr Biden is expected to address the nation on Tuesday.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top communicable disease expert, previously warned that Christmas travel would exacerbate the spread of Omicron among fully vaccinated individuals.
The CDC’s Very High list for Covid-19, which includes nearly all of Europe and 80 countries more, is now advised against travel to more than 80 nations.
Several nations, including France and Germany, have imposed travel restrictions to combat Omicron. The Netherlands has implemented a stringent lockdown during the Christmas period.
The British government has not announced new restrictions in response to the outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that while existing rules need to be “respected,” he needs to “reserve the option” of introducing new rules in England if necessary.
In the interests of public safety, Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that New Year’s Eve celebrations in London’s Trafalgar Square have been canceled.
On Tuesday, New Zealand delayed the phased reopening of international travel until the end of February or later.
Omicron, which was first discovered in November in South Africa, has been labeled a “concern variant” by the WHO.
At a press conference on Monday, Dr Tedros announced that there is now evidence that the variant is “spreading significantly more rapidly” than the previous dominant version, Delta.
The World Health Organization also stated that it would be “premature” to claim that Omicron was a less severe strain on the basis of early evidence.
Dr Tedros said everyone wants to spend time with their friends and family. They are fed up with this pandemic and they are eager to return to normal.
However, he added it is the demand of the time that individuals and leaders must make tough decisions to protect people. The only solution is to cancel or postpone some events.
Dr. Tedros added that if 70% of the world’s population is vaccinated by the middle of next year, the epidemic will come to an end in 2022 – whether it’s eradicated or not.
Dr. Tedros also noted that, in order to help address future pandemic policy, China must provide more information on the origins of the epidemic so that future policies may be developed.