This map shows the place of the Covid omicron variant that has been detected

December 7, 2021: -From the U.S. to Germany and Saudi Arabia to Australia, the Covid-19 omicron variant has spread to dozens of countries globally.

The World Health Organization has labeled omicron, the first detected by South African scientists, a “variant of concern” due to many mutations that could make the variant more contagious.

Much remains unknown about the variant, started referred to as B.1.1.529. Scientists are studying if it is more transmissible, causes of severe illness and deaths, and if tests, therapeutics, and vaccines are effective against it.

Still, the emergence of the omicron variant has led few countries to tighten border restrictions and triggered fresh concerns about the global economy’s health. Meanwhile, dampening investor sentiment rocked global markets.

Rating agency Moody’s said the omicron variant had injected new uncertainty just as many countries were moving to a semblance of post-pandemic normalcy. 

“The discovery of Omicron underscores our view that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a health threat, and the chief source of uncertainty to the global economy and a driver of financial market volatility,” Moody’s added in a Tuesday report.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of Wednesday, the Covid pandemic has seen over 263 million reported infections globally and over 5.2 million known deaths.

Over 8 billion doses of the Covid vaccine have been administered, Hopkins data showed. But many low-income countries, particularly those in Africa, have vaccinated lesser than 10% of their population, according to statistics by online repository Our World in Data.