Omicron Spread Due To Mix Of Factors, Says WHO

Just under 9.5 million new Covid-19 cases were reported to the WHO last week -- a record, up 71 percent on the week before.

The World Health Organization said Friday that the spread of Omicron was down to a combination of factors including the make-up of the Covid-19 variant and increased social mixing.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, said people therefore needed to think about reducing their exposure to the virus and take control over its transmission, following a week of record numbers of new cases.

Van Kerkhove said Omicron transmitted very efficiently between people due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, its mutations allow the virus to adhere to human cells more easily.