The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Tuesday announced that 90 million cases of Coronavirus have been reported since the discovery of the Omicron variant about 10 weeks ago. The number of new Omicron cases has surpassed the infections of 2020 - the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Noting that a number of countries have begun easing their pandemic restrictions, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyeus has cautioned against underestimating Omicron variant of COVID-19. Even as the new variant is not resulting in serious illness than earlier variants, the health official underlined that there has been a "worrying increase in deaths in most regions of the world”.

Addressing a regular COVID-19 briefing by the WHO, he expressed concerns over the narrative followed by some countries that Omicron has high transmissibility but lower severity. Tedros added that it is premature for any country to surrender or declare victory against COVID-19.

"This virus is dangerous and it continues to evolve before our very eyes," he stressed.

As per the WHO, four of its six regions worldwide are seeing increasing trends in deaths. Several European countries including the UK, France, Ireland and the Netherlands have started easing lockdown measures.

On Tuesday, Denmark’s government announced the removal of most restrictions aimed at fighting the pandemic. The Denmark government said it no longer considers COVID-19 “a socially critical disease”.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, also called on countries to not lift restrictions all at once.

"We have always urged caution in applying interventions as well as lifting those interventions in a steady and in a slow way, piece by piece,” she added.

Dr Michael Ryan, the WHO emergencies chief, said countries with higher vaccination rates have more choices to ease restrictions. However, he called on those nations to assess factors like current epidemiology, at-risk populations, immunity in the population, and public access to health care tools before taking the decision to ease their curbs.

“Every country has to find its feet, know where it is, know where it wants to go, and chart its path. You can look at what other countries are doing. But please don’t just follow blindly what every other country is doing," he stressed.

Dr Ryan also expressed concern over political pressure faced by certain countries to ease restrictions prematurely, noting that it can result in increased transmission, severe disease, and unnecessary death.

In addition, Van Kerkhove said that a team of experts, known by the acronym SAGO, was set up last year monitor the emergence of new pathogens such as the Coronavirus and assess its origins. The team's report on the Coronavirus transmission is expected “in the coming weeks.” She said the group conducted about a half-dozen meetings since its first one in late November to assess the impact of the virus. The group also be looking into early epidemiological studies.

"Our current understanding of the origins of this particular pandemic, building upon previous missions that have gone to China and worked with Chinese scientists," she added.