Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread rapidly throughout the world, leading many countries to reintroduce or tighten restrictions in an effort to slow its spread.
While initial evidence suggests Omicron may be less severe than previous Covid variants, it is believed to be more transmissible and more able to evade the protection offered by current vaccines.
What are the symptoms of the Omicron Covid variant?
In the UK, the National Health Service has said the main symptoms of Covid-19 are a high temperature, a new and continuous cough, and changes to people's sense of smell or taste.
But early signs suggest that there are other symptoms that may be more specific to the Omicron variant, including sneezing, fatigue, a headache, lower back pain, fever, scratchy throat, night sweats and a runny nose.
There are also signs that a changed sense of smell or taste is less likely to be a symptom, as has been the case previously.
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Medical workers conduct Covid-19 antigen tests on Palestinians entering Israel from the Gaza Strip. Bloomberg -
Commuters wearing protective masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 get out of a tram in Istanbul. Turkey says the highly contagious Omicron variant now makes up more than 10 per cent of new cases in the country's crowded provinces. AP -
A nurse collects samples at a Covid-19 drive-through in the NMC Hospital, Dubai Investments Park. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Pharmacies in the UAE have started selling Covid-19 self-testing kits. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Audience members wear protective masks during a lecture in Ankara, Turkey. AP -
An Egyptian worshipper lights candles during Christmas Eve Mass at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Cairo. AP -
Worshippers attend Christmas Eve Mass at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Cairo. AP -
People arrive to receive Covid-19 vaccine doses at a facility in Kuwait City. EPA
How easy does Omicron spread?
Early research from experts in Hong Kong, based on lab testing of tissue samples, has shown Omicron replicates up to 70 times faster in the airways leading to the lungs than the Delta variant, which may help explain its rapid spread throughout the population.
But its apparent mildness may be explained by the same Hong Kong study that showed Omicron replicates 10 times slower in the lungs than Delta does.
