There were more than seven million new cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 across Europe in the first week of January, more than doubling in just two weeks, the World Health Organisation says.

WHO Europe director Dr Hans Kluge said at a media briefing on Tuesday that 26 countries in its region reported that more than 1 per cent of their populations are being infected with COVID-19 each week, warning there is now a “closing window of opportunity” for countries to prevent their health systems from being overwhelmed.

He cited estimates from the Institute of Health Metrics at the University of Washington that projected half of the population in western Europe will be infected with COVID-19 in the next six to eight weeks.

“Omicron moves faster and wider than any (previous) variant we have seen,” he said.

The overall risk related to Omicron remains very high:
1⃣ The global risk of #COVID19 remains very high overall
2⃣ Current data indicate that Omicron has a significant growth advantage over Delta, leading to rapid spread in the communityhttps://t.co/Fk2Mba7AiB pic.twitter.com/vmWZFLYCfQ

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 11, 2022

Dr Kluge called for countries to mandate the use of masks indoors and to prioritise vaccination, including booster doses, of at-risk populations, including health workers and older people.

WHO’s Geneva headquarters has previously pleaded with rich countries not to offer booster doses and to donate them instead to poorer countries where vulnerable groups have yet to be immunised.

Dr Kluge said he was greatly concerned that as Omicron moves east across the European continent, the variant will take a much higher toll on countries with lower vaccination coverage rates.

At this rate, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) @IHME_UW forecasts that more than 50% of the population in the Region will be infected with Omicron in the next 6-8 weeks @hans_kluge

— WHO/Europe (@WHO_Europe) January 11, 2022

In Denmark, he noted the coronavirus hospitalisation rate was six times higher in people who weren’t vaccinated compared to those who had been immunised.

-AP