The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the warning as US health officials reported that Omicron now accounts for 73.2 percent of new cases over the past week, and as the country’s first known death linked to the variant is reported in the state of Texas.

“There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant,” Ghebreyesus told a news briefing in Geneva on Monday.

Meanwhile, Israel has added the United States to its “no-fly” list, citing concerns over the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

New Zealand also announced on Tuesday that it would delay its re-opening plans until the end of February fearing a rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Al Jazeera)

•Over the last week in the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, Omicron accounted for 96.3 percent of new cases [File: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP]