Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 3 December 2021 (12.00)

The majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to African countries, with some having taken connecting flights at other locations between Africa and Europe. Several countries (Belgium, Spain, as well as Australia and the United Kingdom) detected cases without an epidemiological link to areas where community transmission of the Omicron variant is documented or presumed. This indicates that undetected community transmission could be ongoing in these countries. Finland reported cases with travel history within the EU/EEA (Sweden). The United States of America reported a case with travel history within the country (Minnesota to New York).

All cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild. No deaths have been reported among these cases so far. These figures should be assessed with caution as the number of confirmed cases is too low to understand if the Omicron disease clinical spectrum differs from that of previously detected variants.   

Countries and territories outside the EU/EEA have reported 377 confirmed cases. The 19 countries reporting confirmed cases are: Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ghana, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe. Globally there were 486 confirmed cases reported by 35 countries.