The World Health Organization (WHO) says it believes existing vaccines "will continue to prevent serious diseases" in the event of infection with a new strain of the coronavirus, omicron.

The WHO said last week that the new Covid-19 type was a "worrying option". But WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said omicron was not a strain that could cause "panic".

She for The BBC said that the aim of the measures is to raise precaution among states, "but that we should not exaggerate."

Omicron has become dominant in South Africa

Health experts say the new variant of the coronavirus omicron has now become dominant in South Africa and is causing a sharp rise in new infections.

According to the latest data, about 24 new cases of covid-8.500 infection have been reported in South Africa in the last 19 hours, which is almost double the previous day, when more than 4.300 new infections were reported.

For comparison, in mid-November the daily number of newly infected was between 200 and 300.