The World Health Organization (WHO) is set to give an update on the COVID-19 pandemic as a new highly transmissible variant spreads globally.
Omicron has been reported in at least 106 countries as of this week, the organisation said.
While cases in December have remained similar, deaths increased by 9% globally last week, WHO said in its recent epidemiological report.
The European region — which includes parts of Central Asia — continued to report the highest incidence of weekly cases, followed by the Americas.
Last week, the African region, where the Omicron variant was first detected, reported the highest increase in COVID-19 cases.
