Countries should consider recommending that passengers wear masks on long-haul flights, given the rapid spread of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday.
In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant was detected in small but growing numbers, WHO/Europe officials said at a press briefing.
Passengers should be advised to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, said the 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".
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