The World Health Organization has warned Europe to prepare for a “significant surge” in coronavirus cases due to the omicron variant.
The WHO has also advised the widespread use of booster shots to curtail the Covid variant that is already dominant in several countries.
“We can see another storm coming,” WHO Europe regional director Dr. Hans Kluge said at a press conference in Vienna.
Also watch | Omicron: Bill Gates cancels Christmas plans, says 'Omicron will hit home for all of us'
The WHO official added that within weeks, omicron will dominate in more countries of the region, pushing already stretched health systems further to the brink.
Omicron has been detected in at least 38 of the WHO European region's 53 member countries, and it is already the dominant variant in the United Kingdom, Denmark and Portugal.
Last week, 27,000 people died from coronavirus in the region and an additional 2.6 million cases were reported, Kluge said.
Although these cases include all variants, not just omicron, he noted this figure is 40 per cent higher than during the same period last year.