Professor Anne von Gottberg from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa

JOHANNESBURG( Reuters)-The Omicron coronavirus variant detected in southern Africa could be the most likely candidate to displace the highly contagious Delta variant, the director of South Africa's communicable disease institute said on Tuesday. The discovery of Omicron has caused global alarm, with countries limiting travel from southern Africa for fear it could spread quickly even in vaccinated populations and the World Health Organization saying it carries a high risk of infection surges." We

An Orange Farm, South Africa, resident receives her jab against COVID-19, on Dec.... Within days, the world was ablaze with the news that the coronavirus had a new variant of concern--one that appears to be driving a dramatic surge in South Africa and offering a glimpse of where the pandemic might be headed.... New COVID-19 cases in South Africa have burgeoned from about 200 a day in mid-November to more than 16, 000 on Friday....