The World Health Organization says we need to cancel events right now in order to get rid of the coronavirus pandemic.
With Christmas and New Year's Eve right around the corner, many were hoping to let their hair down and see their friends and families after what has been a difficult year.
However, there have been dramatic increases in Covid-19 cases in Australia and around the world, with some countries even going back into lockdown to prevent further spread.
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WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said we need to make difficult decisions now so that we can give ourselves the best chance of eliminating coronavirus by the end of next year.
During a recent briefing, he said the world needs to heed their warnings otherwise we could be seeing 'increased cases, overwhelmed health systems and more deaths'.
"An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled," he said.
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He has warned the Omicron variant of the coronavirus appears to be way more transmissible compared to the original virus and gatherings over the next few weeks for the festive season could be devastating.
"There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant," Tedros told the briefing.
"And it is more likely people vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 could be infected or re-infected."
There is conflicting evidence about how deadly or dangerous Omicron is versus Delta, with some initial studies stating patients were only suffering 'mild' symptoms.
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However, Imperial College London concluded last week that it could be just as bad as Delta, according to The Guardian.
The College's findings also threw caution to people who have already caught Covid-19 as the risk of reinfection for Omicron was more than five times higher.
While this does sound like a hell of a lot of doom and gloom, The World Health Organization believes they will be able to get on top of the virus in 2022.
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Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert, told the same briefing: "[We] hope to consign this disease to a relatively mild disease that is easily prevented, that is easily treated.
"If we can keep virus transmission to minimum, then we can bring the pandemic to an end."
The key there is that if transmission is low then they will be able to go on the attack, however if people act like the pandemic is behind them then it could prove to be a very long 2022.
Featured Image Credit: Sven Hoppe/dpa/Alamy Live News