The World Health Organization(WHO) has warned that the latest variant of COVID-19, omicron, may be spreading across most of the nations in the world. 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a virtual media briefing on Tuesday that the strain has been reported in 77 countries so far but it may already exist in most others even if it hasn’t been officially discovered.

Ghebreyesus cautioned against being complacent on the severity of omicron, saying even though it may seem less than other variants, it could overwhelm unprepared medical systems by the sheer number of those infected. 

He also expressed concerns about the possible hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines by wealthy countries, noting that the WHO is not against booster shots but against inequality. 

Meanwhile, the British government decided to lift its entry restrictions placed on some African countries due to omicron, judging that the swift spread of the variant renders border control useless.