Masks recommended on long flights amid COVID variant spread: WHO

Countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19, given its rapid spread across the U.S., World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday.

In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant is being detected in small but growing numbers, WHO officials said in a press briefing.

Passengers should wear masks in high-risk settings, said WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, adding "this should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission."

The XBB.1.5 subvariant — the most transmissible Omicron sub-variant that has been detected so far — accounted for 27.6 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the United States for the week ending Jan. 7, U.S. health officials have said.

It remains unclear if 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.

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