INTERNATIONAL: The Omicron coronavirus variant had been identified in 110 countries and regions as of Thursday, the World Health Organization has announced on Friday. According to WHO’s conference last Thursday, infections of the Omicron coronavirus variant are showing an apparent growth trend compared with that of the Delta variant.

In countries and regions with community transmission cases, Omicron spreads significantly faster than Delta with a doubling time between two and three days. On the other hand, early stage research data from South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Denmark show that the Omicron strain has a lower hospitalization risk than the Delta. Research data on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against Omicron is still relatively limited.

While in most of the countries a few positive cases of omicron have been detected, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Denmark are worst affected by it. Even though a majority of the population of these countries have been vaccinated, a breakthrough infection has stirred fear worldwide.

Ever since the origination of the COVID-19, several strains of COVID-19 have been detected from different parts of the world- Alpha, Beta, and Lambda. Out of all, Delta was the most severe one which led to the second COVID wave earlier this year. Experts believe that Omicron, being highly transmissible, can become a dominant strain very soon. Although the symptoms of Omicron are milder and do not cause severe disease, it tends to spread to a larger population.

Omicron is a new strain of coronavirus and not much is known about it till now. Researchers across the globe are still trying to understand the nature of the strain. Experts are even skeptical about the effectiveness of the vaccines being administered on omicron. Some believe that this strain can surpass the immunity gained by natural infection and vaccination.

Cambodia confirms 15 new Omicron cases, bringing the total number of Omicron variant cases in the Southeast Asian country to 31. Thailand and Singapore have joined japan in closing their orders to most foreign travelers. All three countries have reported domestic cases of the highly transmissible new variant, suggesting Omicron will spread even without new arrivals from abroad.