WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday expressed concern that Omicron being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of Covid-19 cases.
He went on say that the surge in cases is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse and again disrupt lives and livelihoods.
Delta and Omicron are twin threats that are driving up cases to record numbers, which again is leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths, the UN health agency's chief said.
In a weekly report issued on Tuesday, the WHO said that while a decline in Covid cases is being seen in South Africa, the Omicron variant has become the dominant strain in the United Kingdom and the United States.