Omicron variant fuelling ‘exponential’ rise in Covid cases, say South Africa officials

Nearly three-quarters of virus genomes sequenced last month were of new variant, say South African health officials

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The Omicron variant has fuelled a worrying" surge in coronavirus cases in South Africa and is rapidly becoming the dominant strain, local health officials have said, as more countries including the US detected their first cases of the new strain.

The United Arab Emirates and South Korea - which is already battling a worsening outbreak and record daily infections - also confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.