Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), cautioned on Wednesday that the more transmissible Omicron, along with the currently circulating Delta variants, might lead to "a tsunami of cases".

12月29日，世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞在新闻发布会上警告称，奥密克戎变异株的传播性更强，它与德尔塔变异株同时传播，可能引发一场"疫情海啸"。

He said at a press briefing that "this will put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse and again disrupt lives and livelihoods," citing the pressure as not only new COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization but also a large number of health workers getting sick themselves.
谭德塞表示，"这将给本已疲惫的医疗工作者和处于崩溃边缘的卫生系统带来巨大压力，并再次扰乱人们的生活和生计。" 他指出，压力不仅来自需要入院治疗的新确诊的新冠患者，还来自大量生病的医疗工作者。