Omicron ‘going to take over from Delta’ in a short time

As Australian health authorities continue efforts to slow the transmission of the Omicron variant across the country, evidence from the UK suggests the strain is more transmissible but less deadly than previous variants.

Virologist at the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, Professor Lawrence Young, says the new COVID-19 variant is “a bit of a worry because it’s spreading really fast across Europe now”.

“It looks like it’s more transmissible than Delta, more infectious,” he told Ross and Russel.

“It looks like it’s really, in a short time, going to take over from Delta.”

There are currently 437 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, but Professor Young estimates the true case number is “at least three or four times that”.

He says it’s “still early days” but it appears Omicron is “a much more mild disease” than Delta.

There have been 37 cases of the variant recorded in Australia.

Press PLAY below to hear more about how Omicron is spreading in the UK