Dec 3, 2021: The European Union’s public health agency said on Thursday that Omicron could be responsible for more than half of all Covid 19 infections in Europe within a few months.

As fresh fears of another global surge emerge, the estimate could lend weight to preliminary information about the very high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, above that of the Delta variant, which before Omicron was considered the most contagious of the main coronavirus strains.

“Based on mathematical modelling conducted by ECDC, there are indications that Omicron could cause over half of all SARS-CoV-2 infections in the EU/EEA within the next few months,” the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement.

There is no conclusive evidence yet about Omicron’s transmission, but WHO chief Maria van Kerkhov on Covid-19 said Wednesday the agency expects to receive data in a few days.

A few dozen infections have been recorded in Europe so far with the Omicron type, which was first detected in South Africa last month.

The European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA) include the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Earlier on Thursday, Jean-Francois Delfresi, the French government’s top scientific adviser, said Omicron could replace Delta by the end of January.

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