Covid-19 Omicron to infect more than half of Europe's population in 6-8 weeks: WHO

More than half of the European population are expected to be infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant within the next six to eight weeks, the World Health Organization's top Europe official said on Tuesday.

Europe saw more than seven million newly reported Covid-19 cases in the first week of 2022, more than doubling over a two-week period, the WHO's Europe director Hans Kluge told a news briefing.

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"At this rate, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecasts that more than 50 per cent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next 6-8 weeks," Kluge said.