The World Health Organisation (WHO) in Cambodia has reminded the Kingdom to be ready for a possible surge of the emerging COVID-19 variant of concern Omicron.
The following is the statement of WHO Cambodia released on Nov. 27:
“The B.1.1.529 COVID-19 variant (“Omicron”) was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. The first known confirmed Omicron infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November 2021. Infections in South Africa have increased steeply in recent weeks, coinciding with detection of this new variant. There is a high risk that Omicron will be imported and soon found in the Cambodian community in this highly interconnected world.
Omicron is worrying for the global response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other Variants of Concern (VOCs). Omicron has also been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may be able to infect people easily, which would make it more transmissible. We do not know about vaccine effectiveness on this variant; researchers are looking into potential impact on vaccines and other tools. They are also working to understand more about the mutations and what they potentially mean for how virulent this variant is.
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