Omicron may become dominant in Europe in months -EU

FILE PHOTO: A sign that reads "Observe the obligation to cover your mouth and nose" is placed on Hohe Strasse shopping street as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Cologne, Germany, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's public health agency said on Thursday that the Omicron variant could be responsible for more than half of all COVID-19 infections in Europe within a few months, but no cases of severe disease had yet been identified in the region.

The estimate could lend weight to preliminary information about the very high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, above that of the Delta variant, which before Omicron was considered the most contagious of the main coronavirus strains.