SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that laws requiring people in England with COVID-19 to self-isolate could be lifted by the end of the month, bringing an end to all domestic coronavirus restrictions.

The advent and rapid prevalence of the Omicron strain demonstrates the potential of SARS-CoV-2 to evolve its ability to transmit and cause disease. What is particularly surprising, however, is that the origin of the Omicron strain does not appear to have originated from any of the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants such as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma or Delta strains.

"It is a subvariant of the omicron strain, mutations in the spike protein that allow it to attach to cells. It has one and a half times more potential for transmittion than the omicron... It has been discovered in about 60 countries, but it is not yet a strain of special importance.

Greece has lifted an additional requirement for a COVID-19 test for vaccinated and post-ill people entering the country, the foreign ministry said. The requirement was introduced on December 19 to delay the entry of the then new variant of the coronavirus Omicron.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has called on the public to avoid complacency and believing that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 causes a milder disease, urging everyone to get their booster shots.

"We are fighting a variant of the virus that spreads rapidly and causes a milder course of the disease. This should not be passed onto you as complacency," Koca said on Twitter.

A sensational statement - given that we have not yet "gotten rid" of the Omicron and Delta mutations and scientists in many countries object to the easing of anti-pandemic measures - was made by Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Member of the Committee of Experts Gkikas Magiorkinis.

"The virus is quite active. Not only did Omicron appear, but there are sub-variants. These are BA.1 - the classic Omicron, BA.2 and BA.3. Probably all three occurred at the same time. It is noteworthy that BA.2 is less well known, but it also has some advantages because it is much easier to spread.

"If you have been vaccinated twice, we look forward to welcoming you to Australia," Morrison told a news conference in Canberra.

U.S. President Joe Biden got the pleasant surprise that the U.S. economy had powered through the omicron wave of the coronavirus and posted 467,000 new jobs in January.

It showed just how much the pandemic's grip on the economy has faded, though the nation is still grappling with high inflation.

"There is hope and light - the end of the fifth wave of the coronavirus is visible", said the director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Iva Hristova.