Omicron will soon become dominant strain in Europe: officials

European officials and scientists say the omicron coronavirus variant will soon become the dominant strain in Europe.

Denmark, Scotland and Great Britain have noted the fast spread of the omicron variant, with officials in the countries saying the strain could be dominant by next week, The Washington Post reported.

“We expect it to overtake delta within days, not weeks,” Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, said Friday.

The U.K. Health Security Agency said omicron will be dominant by mid-December, and Denmark expects it to be the main strain by “the end of next week,” according to The Post.

Omicron’s spread in those countries is anticipated to be an insight into what is happening in the rest of Europe and what will happen in the future in the U.S.

Health officials in the U.S. noted that all omicron cases currently recorded in the country seem to be mild, with  everyone recovering from the strain. 

Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci previously said omicron appears to be less severe than other coronavirus variants. 

“It’s too early to be able to determine the precise severity of disease but inklings that we are getting, and we must remember these are still in the form of anecdotal … but it appears that with the cases that are seen, we are not seeing a very severe profile of disease,” Fauci said.

“In fact, it might be and I underscore might be, less severe as shown by the ratio of hospitalizations per number of new cases,” he added.