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Added on the 29/11/2021 13:32:31 - Copyright : Euronews EN
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on the Covid-19 crisis, declares the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19 to be a variant of concern, renaming it Omicron. SOUNDBITE
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says the world is in a "race against time" to understand the new Covid variant, calling for precautions to give scientists time to analyse the Omicron strain. She speaks during a visit to Latvia with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg IMAGES
Passengers walk in a terminal at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands after authorities test whether 61 passengers who tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving from South Africa have the new Omicron strain. IMAGES
The B.1.617 Covid-19 variant spreading in India appears to be more contagious and has been classified as being "of concern at the global level", Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's lead on Covid-19, says. SOUNDBITE
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is preparing eight “Nightingale” units each able to house up to 100 patients, as the country continues to battle a surge in Covid infections. The Omicron strain has become the dominant form of the coronavirus in the UK, with nearly 200,000 infections reported on Wednesday. The special surge units will be used to help prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by patients. IMAGES
Covid antigen self-test kits are distributed in Queens, New York, where people wait in long lines to get a free test before the Christmas holidays. The US is battling huge infection surges driven by variant Omicron's rapid spread. IMAGES
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