Passengers should be advised to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, said the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, adding: “this should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission”
LONDON:
Countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 given its rapid spread in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday.
In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant is being detected in small but growing numbers, WHO/Europe officials said at a press briefing.
Passengers should be advised to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, said the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, adding: “this should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission”.
XBB.1.5 – the most transmissible Omicron subvariant that has been detected so far – accounted for 27.6% of COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ending Jan. 7, U.S. health officials have said.
It remains unclear if XBB.1.5 will cause its own wave of infections around the world. Current vaccines continue to protect against severe symptoms, hospitalisation and death, experts say.
“Countries need to look at the evidence base for pre-departure testing”, Smallwood added, saying it was crucial not to focus exclusively on one particular geographic area.