WHO Urges Asia-Pacific to Prepare Amid Omicron Cases in US

By Staff, Agencies

Asia-Pacific countries should boost their healthcare capacity and fully vaccinate their people to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 cases heightened by the Omicron variant, officials at the World Health Organization [WHO] said on Friday, as the United States reported at least 10 new cases of the variant in at least five states.

“Border controls can buy time but every country and every community must prepare for new surges in cases,” Takeshi Kasai, the WHO’s regional director for the western Pacific, told a virtual media briefing from Manila.

“So far the information available suggests we don’t have to change our approach,” Kasai added as he told countries to prepare for Omicron’s “high transmissibility.”

“People should not only rely on border measures. What is most important is to prepare for these variants with potential high transmissibility. So far the information available suggests we don’t have to change our approach,” Kasai also noted.

Earlier, the US states of New York and Hawaii have reported their first cases of the Omicron strain of coronavirus, as the US brought in new measures to combat COVID-19.

New York became the fourth state to confirm cases of the new strain, while Hawaii is the fifth with a total of at least 10 cases now reported around the US, including a second case in California.

The new variant started gaining a foothold in Asia this week, with cases reported from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Many governments have responded by tightening travel rules.