W.H.O. says omicron detected in 38 countries

The World Health Organization said on Friday now the omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 38 countries around the world.

WHO Technical Lead for COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove said there are reports of people infected with omicron that "range in disease severity" from mild to severe disease. She added initial cases came from a "cluster of university students" who were presenting mild symptoms but added that they "tend to be younger individuals, and those individuals tend to present with more mild infection".

Dr. Michael Ryan, the head of emergencies at WHO, said it was important to be "cautious" when referring to cases as "mild." The newest variant was discovered just over a week ago by scientists in South Africa and Botswana.