2 Omicron infections suspected in Finland

Two suspected infections of the coronavirus variant Omicron were being investigated in Finland and in the both cases the infected persons arrived in the country from abroad, said the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a press release on Monday.

To confirm the variant, the sample still needs to be [genetically] sequenced and it will take few days to get results in this regard.

Local authorities already ordered to isolate the two people and map out their contacts.

It is not yet clear whether the Omicron COVID-19 variant is more transmissible, or causes more severe disease compared to other variants including Delta, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

WHO said it's not yet clear whether Omicron is more easily spread from person to person compared to other variants, even though the number of people testing positive has risen in South Africa where this variant was involved.

It's also not yet clear whether Omicron causes more severe disease, but preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, which however may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected.

“The potential spread of the new variant is being investigated globally now. It is also yet to be known whether the new variant will be able to circumvent the immune protection obtained through coronary vaccines or the disease, ”said leading expert at THL Carita Savolainen-Kopra.