The number of cases of the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant (nicknamed Kraken) is also increasing in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

WHO was able to track the spread of the new Omicron subvariant using data provided by European countries, WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said at a press conference in Copenhagen, Agerpres reports.

Cases are being detected in small numbers but are increasing, he also said, adding that work is underway to assess their potential impact.

After three years of the pandemic, Hans Kluge said, no country can afford additional pressure on its health care systems.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that the XBB.1.5 subvariant accounts for nearly half of all new infections in the United States. But whether this will lead to a peak in the number of cases or create new pressure on the health care system remains unclear.

Hans Kluge also stated that the current increase in the number of cases in China should not have a significant impact on the epidemiological situation with Covid-19 in the European region, since the viral variants circulating in the Asian country are already present on the Old Continent.

He also urged countries in the European region to take only “proportionate and non-discriminatory” measures against travelers from China.

Read also:

• When the Kraken, the subvariant of the coronavirus that keeps epidemiologists awake at night, will arrive in Europe
• A new variant of the coronavirus that may become dominant in Europe in the coming weeks. What we know about XBB.1.5
• What we know about the Omicron variant spreading rapidly in the United States: what XBB.1.5 is, how it behaves, and how dangerous it is
• First concerns in Europe about the Omicron XBB.1.5 sub-variant that has become dominant in the US