Friday’s World Health Organization report stated that the Covid-19 omicron variant was detected in 38 countries. This is an increase of 23 from two days earlier. Early data suggests the strain may be more contagious then delta.

“We do see an increasing growth rate, we see increasing numbers of omicron being detected,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead said during a Q&A livestreamed on the group’s social media channels Friday. We have reported omicrons in 38 countries across all six WHO regions.

Van Kerkhove explained that although there’s some evidence of increased transmittibility, we must determine if that is more or less than delta. Van Kerkhove also pointed out that the global dominant delta variant remains.

Van Kerkhove stated that it is still early to know the extent of the disease caused by Omicron. She said that early reports of mild symptoms in the first cases were based upon a group of students at university who experience milder symptoms than those older people.

Van Kerkhove explained that initial reports suggested it might be milder, but this is still too soon. SARS-CoV-2 infects everyone, regardless of variant. It always causes mild diseases. It may end there with mild. Some people may be asymptomatic, but others may not.