Omicron will become dominant strain of Covid in EU by mid-Jan: Bloc president

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the Coronavirus’s Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, will become the dominant strain in the 27-nation bloc by mid-January.

The head of the EU’s executive branch, however, exuded confidence that the bloc is well prepared to fight the highly contagious strain. Given the high rate of vaccination in the bloc and the availability of vaccine doses, von der Leyen said Europe is now in a better position to fight the virus.

She said more than 300 million people in the EU have been fully vaccinated and that 62 million people have gotten a booster jab.

The commission chief further said the EU is facing a “double challenge” of increasing cases in recent weeks due to the Delta variant and rising threat from Omicron.

“We’re seeing an increasing number of people falling ill, a greater burden on hospitals and unfortunately an increase in the number of deaths,” she was quoted as telling European lawmakers.

Von der Leyen said the increase in infections remains due “almost exclusively” to the delta variant. “And what I’m concerned about is that we are now seeing the new variant Omicron on the horizon, which is apparently even more infectious.”

The alarming rise of new infections has prompted the implementations of further restrictions across Europe.

Italy has made negative tests mandatory from vaccinated visitors even as the move has raised concerns that it will limit free movement at a time when many EU citizens travel to see their relatives and loved ones.

Portugal adopted a similar measure on December 1, requiring a mandatory negative test for all flights arriving in Portugal, even for people with health passes and regardless of their point of origin or nationality.

According to an analysis of data from South Africa, where the new variant is driving a surge in infections, Omicron seems to be more easily spread from person to person and better at evading vaccines, but also milder in terms of severity.