World Health Organization (WHO) officials for Europe suggested that countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus, given its rapid spread in the US. they made during a press conference on January 10.
In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 is being detected in small but increasing numbers. Therefore, the WHO’s senior emergency official for that continent, Catherine Smallwood, indicated that passengers should be suggested to wear masks in high-risk environments, such as long-haul flights.
In statements cited by the Reuters agency, he added that "this recommendation should be made to passengers coming from any place where there is widespread transmission of COVID-19."
XBB.1.5, the most transmissible Omicron subvariant detected so far, accounted for 27.6% of COVID-19 cases in the US during the first week of January, US health officials said.
It is unclear whether XBB.1.5 will cause its own wave of infections around the world. Current vaccines continue to protect against severe symptoms, hospitalization and death, experts say.
Smalwood said “travel measures must be implemented in non-discriminatory ways.” These behaviors include genomic surveillance and targeting of passengers arriving from other countries, as long as it does not divert resources from national surveillance systems.
Other examples include wastewater monitoring systems that can observe wastewater around entry points, such as airports.
XBB.1.5 is another descendant of Omicron, the more contagious variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 and is now globally dominant. It is a branch of XBB, first detected in October, which itself is a recombinant of two other Ómicron subvariants.
