The chief scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that the Omicron COVID-19 strain appears to be “very transmissible” based on initial data that has been gathered by the health body. But the official, Soumya Swaminathan, said it’s not possible to know if Omicron would become the dominant strain. Currently, in many countries including the United States, Delta is the most common COVID-19 variant. “Delta accounts for 99 percent of infections around the world. This variant would have to be more transmissible to out-compete and become dominant worldwide,” she said during a Reuters-hosted event. “It is possible, but it’s not possible to predict.” As a result, Swaminathan called on world leaders to “not panic” over the variant “because we’re in a different situation to a year ago.” Nonetheless, officials worldwide have implemented travel curbs and fresh lockdowns, in part due to the emergence of Omicron. No Omicron deaths have been confirmed …