“We assess the probability of further spread of the Omicron variant in the EU or EEA as very high, and it is considered very likely to cause additional hospitalisations and fatalities, further to those already expected from previous forecasts that consider only the Delta variant,” she added.Omicron, which the World Health Organization labeled a “variant of concern” on November 26, was first discovered in South Africa and prompted countries to introduce travel bans.However, a preliminary analysis of the initial cases reported to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) suggests that imported or travel-related cases only accounted for 13 per cent, while 70 per cent were acquired locally.The EU or EEA countries reporting cases without an epidemiological link to travel are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Iceland.
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