TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
G7 calls Omicron 'biggest current threat' to world health
"Deeply concerned by the rise in cases, ministers agreed that these developments should be seen as the biggest current threat to global public health," Britain, which is currently chair of the group, said in a statement.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Groups of people line-up to get tested for Covid-19 in Times Square on December 05, 2021 in New York City. With the newly discovered omicron strain of Covid, health officials are urging people to get a vaccination or a booster and get tested for Covid. (AFP/Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
T
he G7 on Thursday called the Omicron variant the "biggest current threat to global public health", saying its emergence meant it was "more important than ever" for countries to "closely cooperate".
"Deeply concerned by the rise in cases, ministers agreed that these developments should be seen as the biggest current threat to global public health," Britain, which is currently chair of the group, said in a statement.
"It is more important than ever to closely cooperate, and monitor as well as share data," it added.
The G7 health ministers earlier held their final meeting hosted by Britain, which has seen spiralling case rates over recent days, registering record numbers on Thursday.
The ministers focussed on global access to diagnostics, genome sequencing, vaccines and therapeutics in a bid to combat its spread.
"They also agreed on the increasing importance of booster campaigns and regular testing alongside continued non-pharmaceutical measures," the statement said.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden warned Thursday that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will start to spread much more rapidly in the United States and urged Americans to get vaccinated or boosted.
"The only real protection is to get your shot," he said, predicting "a winter of severe illness and death" for the unvaccinated.
He spoke as America is growing more and more nervous over the latest chapter of the nightmare that is the coronavirus pandemic.
As of December 1, the average of new daily cases of infection was 86,000. On December 14, it had shot up to 117,000 -- an increase of 35 percent.
Biden stressed the importance of vaccinated people getting a booster and of those who have yet to be vaccinated receiving their first shot.
Health ministers from the G7 on Thursday called for international cooperation in the face of the Omicron strain, which they called the "biggest current threat to global public health."
The outbreak linked to the new variant has spread globally, and more European nations are implementing travel restrictions.
The United States, the hardest-hit country in the world, is currently averaging 1,150 Covid-19 deaths per day, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Americans do seem to be in for a rough winter.
Broadway shows are being canceled because of more and more positive tests among drama companies.
