U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday pledged to ease a shortage of COVID-19 tests as the Omicron variant spreads across U.S. states this holiday week, threatening to overwhelm hospitals and stifle travel plans.

US President Joe Biden discusses White House response to Omicron

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has affected Christmas weekend travel plans globally, with nearly 6,000 flights being cancelled.

Nearly 6,000 flights cancelled globally, as Omicron hits Christmas weekend travel

Many nations have restricted gatherings so as to curb the Omicron variant. Take a look at this report.

Nations impose Coronavirus restrictions owing to new Omicron variant

Europe is facing a pretty sharp rise in the number of Covid 19 infections and it is not just due to the latest omicron variant.

PM Johnson urges people to get vaccinated

A new wave of corona virus cases are sweeping the country. 13 million residents of Xi'an are now under a lockdown new hot spots are emerging every day.

China's pandemic playboom failing?

Europe Concerned Over Rise In Cases

World prepares up for Christmas and new year's many nations have imposed new imposed new restrictions to slow down the spread of the omicron variant.

Celebration begin at the Church of the Nativity

US President Joe Biden urged people to not panic as he announced an updated three-pronged plan to fight an expected rise in COVID-19 cases after the emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant. He also pleaded with the millions of unvaccinated Americans to get their shots. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.

WION-VOA Co-Production: Biden announces 3-prolonged plan as Omicron drives COVID-19 spike

Omicron variant is bringing back lockdowns and restriction. China is now on high alert. Take a look at this report.

Omicron variant brings back lockdowns in China

As concerns over the Omicron variant has gripped the world, the UK has recorded over 1 lakh cases in a single day, the highest recorded number of the cases since the pandemic began.

COVID-19: UK breaks single-day surge record with over 100,000 Omicron cases

Omicron is now the dominant variant of the COVID-19 in the US, federal health officials said, racing ahead of Delta and other variants and accounting for 73% of new infections last week.

Omicron Variant spreads across the world

While the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 is spreading its wings globally, the UK chose to ease isolation rules ahead of Christmas.

UK eases COVID isolation rules ahead of Christmas amid Omicron surge globally

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he was looking at all kinds of things to keep the Omicron variant under control as the situation was extremely difficult.

Situation is extremely difficult in UK amid Omicron COVID-19 variant surge, says Boris Johnson

Omicron is now dominant COVID-19 variant in US, accounts for 73% of new cases

The COVID-19 infections seem to have broken records in several parts of Europe in recent weeks. Governments are scrambling to bolster up their defenses against fast spreading of Omicron variant.

COVID-19 infections have broken records in parts of Europe

Despite a rapid rise in the country's Omicron cases, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned people to take precautions and ruled out Christmas lockdown plans for now.

UK PM Boris Johnson: No Christmas lockdown for Britain yet, but looking at all kinds of options

The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 has spread its wings globally, with cases rising rapidly in the US. In the latest, Omicron has become the dominant strain in the US.

The Omicron variant has spurred a new wave of infections in the US

Several nations across the world are struggling to control the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. While some countries are reimplementing Covid regulations, others are hoping it would pass away by vaccination. Amid all this chaos, scientists are still 'surprised' by properties of Omicron variant.<o:p></o:p>

The new variant of coronavirus was detected by scientific experts of African countries and reported in the first few weeks of December 2021. Since then, experts have been rushing to identify symptoms, effect and vaccine efficiency for this variant. However, the variant keeps on surprising.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/omicron-within-a-week-the-strain-increased-from-3-to-73-of-us-covid-19-cases-438597">Omicron: Within a week, the strain increased from 3% to 73% of US COVID cases</a></o:p>

Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) told a western media house, Sky News, that even after almost a month of discovering this new variant, scientists are still learning ‘all the time’ about Omicron and its properties.<o:p></o:p>

"Some experiments that have been done in different groups are suggesting that the virus has kind of altered the way it infects cells,” Gupta said. "This is again potentially due to some mutations that have occurred, and there may, and this is a big caveat, there may be a slightly different profile for this virus [compared to Delta]."

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/omicron-variant-surge-across-world-govts-taking-strict-measures-to-curb-spread-438659">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/omicron-variant-surge-across-world-govts-taking-strict-measures-to-curb-spread-438659/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Nonetheless, even if it were a little bit milder, in a very broad sense, the sheer numbers of cases would still translate into some individuals becoming quite sick. We're not anticipating that this virus, because of these changes, is going to suddenly become harmless. I think that shouldn't be the interpretation of the work that we and others are doing," he added. "But what we are saying is that we are learning about the virus all the time."<o:p></o:p>

He also warned that looking at the doubling rate of the Omicron variant, it is highly possible that the health facilities might be overwhelmed soon. "Even if the vaccines protect us to a significant degree, then the increased transmissibility and penetration of the virus into communities that we're seeing already is putting a large amount of pressure (on the NHS) because a very small fraction of a very large number still translates to significant numbers being hospitalised," he said.<o:p></o:p>

Several nations across the world are struggling to control the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. While some countries are reimplementing Covid regulations, others are hoping it would pass away by vaccination.

Several nations across the world are struggling to control the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. While some countries are reimplementing Covid regulations, others are hoping it would pass away by vaccination. Amid all this chaos, scientists are still 'surprised' by properties of Omicron variant. The new variant of coronavirus was detected by scientific experts of African countries and reported in the first few weeks of December 2021. Since then, experts have been rushing to identify symptoms, effect and vaccine efficiency for this variant. However, the variant keeps on surprising. Also read | Omicron: Within a week, the strain increased from 3% to 73% of US COVID cases Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) told a western media house, Sky News, that even after almost a month of discovering this new variant, scientists are still learning ‘all the time’ about Omicron and its properties. "Some experiments that have been done in different groups are suggesting that the virus has kind of altered the way it infects cells,” Gupta said. "This is again potentially due to some mutations that have occurred, and there may, and this is a big caveat, there may be a slightly different profile for this virus [compared to Delta]." WATCH | "Nonetheless, even if it were a little bit milder, in a very broad sense, the sheer numbers of cases would still translate into some individuals becoming quite sick. We're not anticipating that this virus, because of these changes, is going to suddenly become harmless. I think that shouldn't be the interpretation of the work that we and others are doing," he added. "But what we are saying is that we are learning about the virus all the time." He also warned that looking at the doubling rate of the Omicron variant, it is highly possible that the health facilities might be overwhelmed soon. "Even if the vaccines protect us to a significant degree, then the increased transmissibility and penetration of the virus into communities that we're seeing already is putting a large amount of pressure (on the NHS) because a very small fraction of a very large number still translates to significant numbers being hospitalised," he said.

Omicron variant's properties keep 'surprising', experts claim

As COVID-19 shows no signs of stopping governments are taking strict measures to stop its rapid spread. The WHO has issued a warning ahead of the festive season. Here is the report on how the newly found Omicron COVID-19 variant is forcing governments to act.

Omicron variant surge across world, govts taking strict measures to curb spread

Omicron variant surge across world, governments taking strict measures to curb spread

Indonesia has reported its first Omicron infection. The variant was detected on Wednesday evening in an employee at a hospital in the capital Jakarta. The patient infected has no history of overseas travel.

Indonesia reports first case of Omicron COVID-19 variant

According to Chief Medical Advisor to US President Dr Anthony Fauci, the initial reports on the Omicron variant of coronavirus indicate that it may be less dangerous than Delta which continues to drive a surge in hospitalisations.

Early indications suggest Omicron may be less dangerous than Delta, says Fauci

The horrific images of India's deadly second wave, which hit the country in April this year are still fresh in people's memory.

India details plan to combat omicron threat

The WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said that while the new covid variant omicron appears to be very transmissible, the right response is to be prepared and not panic.

Omicron around the world

Is Omicron really deadlier than the Delta variant? There is no scientific evidence to back this claim. Also, numbers show otherwise. Palki Sharma has the details.

Gravitas: Omicron cases spread to over 30 countries

US President Joe Biden has announced a pandemic strategy to protect Americans from the newly found Omicron COVID-19 variant over the winter.

Biden lays out winter plan to protect against Omicron COVID-19 variant

The US President Joe Biden laid out a pandemic strategy to fight the spread of the newly found Omicron COVID-19 variant that includes hundreds of vaccination sites, boosters for all adults, new testing requirements for international travellers and free at-home tests.

US President Biden lays out plans to fight spread of Omicron COVID-19 variant

A preliminary study by scientists in South African published on Thursday suggests the Omicron variant is three times more likely to cause reinfections than other variants like the Delta or Beta.

Initial study shows Omicron variant 3 times more likely to cause reinfections

Australia reported the country's first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant. A student with no history of foreign travel has tested positive for the strain in the country.

Australia reports first Omicron COVID-19 variant case

India has become the 30th country in the world to report cases of the Omicron variant. One of the patients is a doctor with no travel history. Is Omicron a deadlier variant or is it just spreading fast? Palki Sharma tells you.

Gravitas: India becomes the 30th country to report Omicron cases

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