A government statement said the Omicron variant, while highly transmissible, had seen lower hospitalisation rates than previous waves, reports BBC.

There had been a marginal increase in the number of deaths, it added.

Omicron was first detected in South Africa.

It has now spread across several nations.

The UN health agency chief expressed optimism during a press briefing on Wednesday that 2022 maybe the year the world ends the acute stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus reminded that it was two years ago, as people gathered for New Year’s Eve celebrations, that a new global threat emerged.

Since then, 1.8 million deaths were recorded in 2020 and 3.5 million in 2021, but the actual number is much higher. There are also millions of people dealing with long-term consequences from the virus. 

Right now, Delta and Omicron are driving up cases to record numbers, leading to spikes in hospitalizations and deaths.

Tedros is “highly concerned” that the more transmissible Omicron, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to “a tsunami of cases.”