US President warns Nation about Omicron, says: "Winter of Severe Illness and Death"

G7 called the variant the "biggest current threat to global public health"

Washington: Amid the rise of new variant Omicron, the United States President Joe Biden warned the nation of a "winter of severe illness and death" for those unvaccinated against Covid-19. The G7 called the Omicron variant the biggest threat to global public health.

The stark words came as Britain saw more than 88,000 Covid-19 infections, a second consecutive record daily number, prompting France to impose "drastic" new limits on travel to the UK.

According to the experts, they are uncertain how dangerous the highly mutated Omicron variant is. Earlier, data suggests it can be more resistant to vaccines and is more transmissible than the Delta variant.

Taking notes from the research on Omicron, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the strain has been reported in 77 countries and has "probably" spread to most nations undetected at a higher rate than any previous variant of the virus.

Several countries around the globe have started to restrict various domestic gatherings to combat the new variant which has been 'red-flagged' by the WHO.

Recently, on Thursday, the G7 called the variant the "biggest current threat to global public health", saying its emergence meant it was "more important than ever" for countries to closely cooperate and share data.

In a meeting hosted by group chair Britain, the countries' health ministers emphasized the "increasing importance of booster campaigns and regular testing", according to a statement.

Biden's warning about the winter came as he urged Americans who have already had two shots to get boosters, and vaccine sceptics to step up and get jabbed.

"The only real protection is to get your shot," Biden said, with the White House saying the administration did not intend to take specific restrictive measures but would instead focus on vaccination.

"The tools that we have, we know are working," deputy White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding: "We're just going to continue pushing forward... to get Americans vaccinated and boosted."

The United States, the hardest-hit country in the world, is currently averaging 1,150 Covid-19 deaths per day, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).