The World Health Organisation on Sunday has said that the new Covid-19 variant - Omicron can be detected with PCR tests, it is also conducting studies to see if other test types can also detect the Covid-19 variant of concern.
"The widely-used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including infection with Omicron, as we have seen with other variants. Studies are ongoing to determine whether there is any impact on other types of tests, including rapid antigen detection tests,” the WHO said in its latest update about the effectiveness of the present test.
The WHO had on Friday declared the Omicron variant that was first detected earlier this month in southern Africa, to be a variant of concern that has already prompted nations to take restrictive measures like cancelling flights from Africa, rigorous testing of travellers, etc.
Putting Omicron under this classification has got it into the most troubling category of Covid-19 variants, alongside the globally dominant Delta, and its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
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Nations are closing down borders yet again due to the spread of this variant. European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday stated the world was in a "race against time" to understand the new Covid variant and added that if required vaccines will be modified to counter it.
The variant has covered global efforts to battle the pandemic with black clouds due to the fear of its being highly infectious, forcing countries to reimpose measures that people were thinking wouldn't happen again.
In its update, WHO said that it's not clear whether Omicron can spread easily from one person to another or if it can cause severe illness like the other Covid strains. “Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron,” said WHO.
“There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants," the body added.
The UN agency is working to understand the potential impact of the variant on existing counter measures, including vaccines.
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Current treatments for Covid like corticosteroids and IL6 receptor blockers will still be effective for managing patients with severe COVID-19, said the organisation, while adding that the other treatments will be assessed to check if they are as effective against Omicron.
Studies on the various aspects of the new variant will take several weeks to reach any concussion, the WHO said.
"WHO is coordinating with a large number of researchers around the world to better understand Omicron," it said, citing more information will emerge in the coming days and weeks.