GENEVA: The World Health Organization's (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged the international community to work together to halt the Covid-19 pandemic within the next year. Tedros told reporters on Monday that the "fastest way" to go back to normal this holiday season is to make "hard decisions," despite the Omicron Covid-19 variant's rapid proliferation.

"It's better to cancel an event than it is to cancel a life." He went on to say, "It's better to cancel now and mourn later than to celebrate now and mourn later." "We all want things to return to normal... Now is the time to defend ourselves," He also urged governments to exercise extreme caution in the coming weeks, avoiding large-scale activities.

Since its detection in South Africa, the Omicron form has been identified in 89 countries, with the number of cases doubling every 1.5 to three days in regions where community transmission exists, according to the WHO.

The new variant is not as dangerous as the Delta form, but it is potentially more contagious and vaccination resistant. "If we are to stop the pandemic in the coming year, we must address unfairness," the WHO leader stated of vaccination access disparities.

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