LONDON - Omicron has rapidly become the dominant strain of Covid-19 in South Africa and is, according to experts, going to overtake other variants in the UK just as Christmas celebrations get under way.
Discovered just two weeks ago, the spread of the new strain has been very rapid. In South Africa, where Omicron was first discovered, cases have “surged by 255% in the past seven days”, The Guardian said, while “Africa currently accounts for 46% of reported Omicron cases globally”.
In the UK, there have been 568 confirmed cases since the new strain was first detected. But Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs this week that the true number of infections could be close to 10,000, around 20 times higher than the official total.
