GENEVA, Dec 14 — The World Health Organisation (WHO) told Sputnik that it expects an increase in the number of hospitalisations and fatalities related to the new Omicron coronavirus strain, reported Sputnik.
On Monday, the United Kingdom Health Security Agency confirmed the first Omicron-related fatality.
“As case numbers linked to a variant of concern increase globally, we expect the number of hospitalised cases and even deaths to be reported,” the WHO said in a statement.
Many countries still do not have the capacity to consistently analyse all cases or deaths, so it can be difficult to provide accurate information on deaths related to a particular variant, the WHO said.
It added that more information on the severity of the Omicron strain is expected in the coming weeks due to time lag between an increase in the number of cases and an increase in the number of severe cases and deaths.
“Further information is needed to fully understand the clinical picture of those infected with Omicron and WHO encourages countries to contribute to the collection and sharing of hospitalised patient data through the WHO Covid-19 Clinical Data Platform,” the statement read.
— Bernama
