World Health Organization (WHO) representatives encouraged all nations to advise their citizens to wear masks on long-haul flights on Tuesday in response to the Omicron subvariant virus spreading in the United States. Wearing masks ‘should be a suggestion offered to people travelling from wherever where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission,’ according to Catherine Smallwood, a senior emergency officer for WHO in Europe.
According to officials, a few instances of the XBB.1.5 subvariant have been found throughout Europe. It is currently unknown whether the recently discovered subvariant would initiate a new wave of infection similar to the earlier ones.
Experts contend that the current vaccines still offer protection against fatalities, serious illness, and hospitalisation, according to Reuters.
Health officials also said that as of now, the XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible Omicron subvariant detected. It also accounts for almost 27.6 per cent of the COVID-19 deaths in the United States in the first week of January.
Post Your Comments