WHO Calls On Relying On Border Control Cannot Help To Deal With Omicron Variants: All Countries Must Be Prepared

JAKARTA - Asia-Pacific countries should increase their health care capacity, fully vaccinating all citizens to prepare for the surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the Omicron variant, officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

First detected in southern Africa last month and dubbed the "variant of concern" by the WHO, scientists are still gathering data to determine how contagious the Omicron variant is and the severity of the disease it causes.

Cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in about two dozen countries, starting to be found in Asia this week, with cases reported from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Many governments have responded by tightening travel rules.

"Border control may buy time, but every country and every community must prepare for a surge in new cases," WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai said at a virtual news conference.

"Society should not rely solely on border measures. The most important thing is to prepare for this variant with high transmission potential. So far the available information shows that we do not need to change our approach," Kasai continued.

Kasai said countries should take advantage of lessons learned from dealing with the Delta variant, urging them to fully vaccinate vulnerable groups and implement preventative measures such as wearing masks and social distancing.

To note, despite restrictions on international visitors, Australia became the latest country on Friday to report Omicron community transmission, a day after it was discovered locally in five US states.