Wear masks on long flights as XBB.1.5 Covid variant spreads, WHO says

The new subvariant of the Omicron strain is being detected in 'small but growing numbers'

A man wearing a facemask in Dubai in April 2020, shortly after the first outbreak. Pawan Singh / The National

Staff from the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conduct searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, at the start of the outbreak on January 11, 2020. AFP

A security guard sits outside the closed Huanan market in Wuhan, Hubei province. Getty Images

A notice displayed near a quarantine control station at Narita Airport, Japan, in January 2020. EPA

An empty Times Square after a coronavirus lockdown was ordered in New York City, March 18, 2020. Reuters

A nurse wearing PPE comforts another as they change shifts on March 13, 2020 at Cremona Hospital, north-eastern Italy. AFP

Sanitation workers from Tadweer on the first day of the UAE cleaning campaign in March 2020. Victor Besa / The National

The pedestrian crossing on Hamdan and Fatima Bint Mubarak Street is sprayed on March 27, 2020. Victor Besa / The National

A commuter enters the sterilisation area at the entrance of the Abu Dhabi Central Bus Terminal in March 2020. Victor Besa / The National

Travellers returning to Kuwait from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon arrive to be re-tested at a containment and screening zone in Kuwait City on March 16, 2020. AFP

Al Wadha Mall in Abu Dhabi reopens in May 2020 with measures in place to protect shoppers. Victor Besa / The National

Safety reminders at Dubai International Airport after the resumption of scheduled operations by Emirates on May 22, 2020. AFP

A delivery driver wearing a face mask in downtown Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Passengers of an Emirates flight prepare to board a plan to Sydney at Dubai International Airport. AFP

Systems put in place at a supermarket in Dubai to slow the spread of the coronavirus. AFP

Passengers should be advised to wear masks on long flights to counter the spread of Covid-19 as a new variant spreads, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

The XBB.1.5 subvariant is fuelling a new spate of cases in the US and Europe, and China's Covid numbers continue to climb after travel and other restrictions were largely lifted.

"This should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread Covid-19 transmission," said Catherine Smallwood, the WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe.

It remains unclear if XBB.1.5 will cause its own wave of infections around the world. Current vaccines continue to protect against severe symptoms, hospital admission and death, experts say.

"Countries need to look at the evidence base for pre-departure testing," Ms Smallwood said.

She said it was crucial not to focus exclusively on one particular geographic area.

If measures were being considered, Ms Smallwood said they should be introduced "in a non-discriminatory manner."

The threat of other variants emerging is still present.

“A threat could come from a new variant of concern anywhere, any time,” Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said at a briefing in Copenhagen.

Dr Kluge urged European countries to increase their monitoring, saying the health agency needs detailed and regular information to deal with the pandemic in its fourth year.

The number of genetic sequences submitted to the WHO from Europe has dropped to 90,000 in the last five weeks of 2022, compared to 1.2 million in the first five weeks of the year.

China must supply information, Dr Kluge said.

The official death toll since the country abruptly shifted from its zero-Covid approach in early December remains less than 40, despite reports of overwhelmed crematoriums and nursing homes, prompting widespread scepticism of official estimates.

China’s definition for Covid deaths is “very narrow” and doesn’t necessarily meet WHO standards, Ms Smallwood said in the presentation.

A panel of experts is studying whether the XBB.1.5 strain should be called a variant of concern, she said, as cases of the subvariant are being picked up in small but growing numbers in Europe.

China’s Covid surge is not expected to significantly affect the spread of the disease in Europe, Dr Kluge said.

XBB.1.5, the most transmissible Omicron subvariant that has been detected so far, accounted for 27.6 per cent of Covid-19 cases in the US for the week ending on January 7, US health officials have said