GENEVA－More evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus variant is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants and partially offsetting concerns relating to its rapid spread, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

"We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike other ones," said WHO Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud in Geneva, adding that other variants may cause severe pneumonia. "It can be a good news, but we really require more studies to prove that."

His remarks on the reduced risks of severe disease chime with other data, including a study from South Africa, which was one of the first countries to detect the variant.

And he warned that Omicron's high transmissibility meant it would become dominant within weeks in many places, posing a threat to medical systems in countries where a high proportion of the population remains unvaccinated.

While Omicron seemed to be slipping past antibodies, evidence was emerging that COVID-19 vaccines still provided some protection, Mahamud said.

"Our prediction is protection against severe hospitalization and death (from Omicron) will be maintained," he said, adding that this also applied to Chinese-made vaccines from Sinopharm and Sinovac.

The best way to reduce the impact of the variant would be to meet the WHO's goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the population in each country by July this year, he said.

Dilemmas presented

Since the heavily mutated variant was first detected in November, according to WHO data, the variant has spread quickly and emerged in at least 128 countries, presenting dilemmas for many nations and people seeking to reboot their economies and lives after nearly two years of coronavirus-related disruptions.

One day after the United States set a global record of 1 million cases reported within a day, France reported a record-smashing 271,686 daily cases on Tuesday, burdening hospital staff and threatening to disrupt transport, schools and other services.

Elsewhere in Europe, Polish President Andrzej Duda was infected with COVID-19, a senior official of the president's cabinet said on Wednesday.

In Australia, pressure also grew on the health system on Wednesday as cases hit a record for the third consecutive day, straining hospitals and overrunning testing facilities.

Nearly 53,000 new cases were reported across New South Wales and Victoria, Australia's most populous states, with both clocking fresh one-day highs and exceeding Tuesday's national tally of around 47,800.

India on Wednesday reported its first death linked to Omicron in the western state of Rajasthan, a federal health ministry official said.

Omicron cases in the country have risen to 2,135, the official said in New Delhi.

One day after Japan's Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki criticized US military bases of spreading the virus, the region emerged on Wednesday as the country's epicenter of a new surge with cases more than doubling from the previous day. New infections in the southern prefecture jumped to 623 from 225 on Tuesday, the most since August.

Agencies - Xinhua