The number of cases of diseases with the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant is also increasing in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced, dpa reports, Agerpres reads.

WHO managed to track the spread of the new Omicron subvariant with the help of data provided by European countries, said Hans Kluge, the WHO regional director for Europe, during a press conference in Copenhagen. Cases are detected in small numbers, but increasing, he also said, adding that work is being done to assess their potential impact.

After three years of the pandemic, said Hans Kluge, no country can afford additional pressure on the health systems.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that the XBB.1.5 subvariant accounted for nearly half of all new infections in the United States. But whether this will lead to a peak in the number of cases or put new pressures on the health system remains unclear.

Hans Kluge also stated that the current recrudescence of the number of cases in China should not have a significant impact on the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in the European region, as the viral variants circulating in the Asian country are already present in the Old Continent .

He also urged the countries in the European area to take only „proportionate and non-discriminatory” measures against travelers coming from China.

Agerpres