Manila: WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr. Takeshi Kasai pointed out on Friday that border closures adopted by some countries may buy time to deal with the omicron coronavirus variant, but measures put in place and experience gained in dealing with the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the pandemic.
As much details remain unknown about the new variant, Kasai said that omicron has been designated a variant of concern because of the number of mutations and because early information suggests it may be more transmissible than other variants of the virus. He further noted that more testing and observation is necessary in the case.
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The WHO Western Pacific Region includes 37 countries and areas from Palau to Mongolia. So far, four countries and regions in the Western Pacific- Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea have reported cases of the omicron variant, said WHO Regional Emergency Director Dr. Babatunde Olowokure. India, Singapore and Malaysia have also reported their first cases in the last 24 hours.
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