Health Agency: New COVID Strain Poses 'High to Very High Risk' to Europe

The new variant was initially reported in South Africa and Botswana, and in Europe, Belgium was the first to detect it.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the new coronavirus strain, named Omicron, poses a "high to very high" risk to Europeans. In a statement, the ECDC said there is "considerable uncertainty related to the transmissibility, vaccine effectiveness, risk for reinfections and other properties of the Omicron variant".

“In a situation where the Delta variant is resurgent in the EU/EEA, the impact of the introduction and possible further spread of Omicron could be very high", the agency said.

The agency also urged European nations to conduct genomic sequencing and contact tracing of confirmed cases and called for people to not travel to affected areas.

Earlier on Saturday, the Czech Republic and Germany reported their first suspected cases of the Omicron variant in travellers returning from Africa.

After the Omicron strain emerged, multiple countries introduced travel bans to stop the spread of the strain. The US, Britain, the European Union, Canada, Israel, Morocco, and many other nations suspended travel from the affected region.