WHO warns against thinking of Omicron as end of Covid-19

The head of the World Health Organisation has warned that it is dangerous to assume that Omicron is the last of the Covid-19 variants or that we are in the endgame of the pandemic.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director-general said that conditions remain ideal for more coronavirus variants to emerge but also added a positive note by saying that the acute phase of the pandemic could still end this year — if some key targets are met.

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He said Covid can cease to be global health emergency by this year if WHO's target to vaccinate 70 per cent of the population of each country by the middle of this year is achieved.

The WHO chief added that the focus must be on people who are at the highest risk of Covid-19, and improving testing and sequencing rates to track the virus and its emerging variants more closely.