The World Health Organisation, WHO, has warned that there is now "consistent evidence" that the Omicron variant was spreading faster than the Delta variant, as COVID-19 continues to account for around 50,000 deaths worldwide every week.
WHO Director General, Tedros issued the warning at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
He stated that it was also more likely that people who had been vaccinated or recovered from the virus, could be infected, or re-infected.
"There can be no doubt that increased social mixing over the holiday period in many countries will lead to increased cases, overwhelm health systems and more deaths.
"All of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal.
"The fastest way to do that is for all of us as leaders and individuals to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others," he advised.
He emphasized that delaying or cancelling events, was the responsible thing to do now than to lose a life to the virus.