Omicron: Why the experts have ‘never been more concerned’

With case numbers doubling every two days, and vaccine protection dropping in some cases to zero, it seems the safest option is to batten down the hatches and spend a very quiet Christmas

People out and about for Christmas on Grafton Street: it’s feared the Omicron variant will spread rapidly here as it is doing elsewhere in Europe. Picture: Fergal Phillips

“I have been watching this pandemic and working on it since January 2020 and I have never been more concerned,” David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19 warned last Wednesday.

“The rise that you’re seeing in the UK today is just the beginning of an extraordinary acceleration.”

As Omicron threatens to cause levels of Covid-19 not yet seen in this pandemic, the world is getting to grips with the scale of ...