As the COVID-19's new Omicron variant has spread to 38 nations in less than two weeks, experts say this strain ― first identified in South Africa ― had already been circulating undetected for quite some time.

According to virologists and epidemiologists, the variant was in circulation in several countries before South Africa’s health authorities alerted the world to its presence. The inference is based on the fact that many cases of the Omicron variant that are surfacing in different parts of the world have no travel connection to the southern African region where the virus was first reported. This, according to experts, suggests that community transmission of the virus has already begun.

For instance, the nine people that initially tested positive for the variant in Scotland had all attended a private event. However, none of the attendees visited southern Africa in the recent past. Similarly, in Germany, a man who was found infected with Omicron had not gone outside the country in a long time, neither did his contacts.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also said the origin of this variant is unknown and that it is wrong to put restrictive travel measures on southern African countries. “The only thing we are sure about, when a country detects a virus, is that that country’s surveillance system is good. That’s what happened in southern Africa. So this discourages the travel ban even more because ... it is like a measure against a good surveillance system,” Dr Abdou Salam Gueye, regional emergency director in WHO’s Africa office, told CNBC.

In a press briefing on Friday, WHO officials said that is too early to confirm if existing COVID-19 vaccines would fight the new variant or not. However, people have been urged to remain calm and follow all protocols.

(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)