The Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms according to early data, the World Health Organization said Sunday.
The Delta variant, first identified in India earlier this year, is responsible for most of the world's coronavirus infections.
But South Africa's discovery of Omicron -- which has a large number of mutations -- last month prompted countries around the world to impose travel bans on southern African countries and reintroduce domestic restrictions to slow its spread.
The WHO said Omicron had spread to 63 countries as of December 9. Faster transmission was noted in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, and in Britain, where Delta is the dominant strain.
The number of Omicron patients in India ticked up to 38 as five fresh cases surfaced -- one each in Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala. For Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh, these were the first cases.
With 7,774 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 3,46,90,510, while the number of active cases declined to 92,281, lowest in 560 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The death count mounted to 4,75,434 with the addition of 306 new fatalities.
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