The World Health Organization (WHO) considers that the risk posed worldwide by the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes covid-19 disease, remains "very high".

"The glocal risk linked to the worrying new variant Ómicron remains very high," the WHO warns in the weekly epidemiological bulletin quoted by Lusa.

According to the WHO "reliable evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant, with a doubling rate of two to three days." The WHO further states that "rapid growth in case incidence is observed in several countries."

Covid-19 has caused more than 5.40 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to the most recent report by Agence France-Presse.