WHO classifies new Omicron variant as COVID 'variant of concern'

WHO headquarters.
(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Just when we thought we could sleep off our food comas in peace.

The World Health Organization on Friday officially classified a new strain of the coronavirus first found in southern Africa as a global "variant of concern," following initial detection reports that sent markets into a tailspin, The Wall Street Journal reports.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.