Covid: Christmas travel will fuel spread of Omicron, US expert warns

Christmas travel will increase the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, even among the fully vaccinated, the top US infectious disease expert says.

"There's no doubt about this, [Omicron] has an extraordinary capability of spreading," Dr Anthony Fauci told NBC's Meet the Press programme on Sunday.

Dr Fauci, who advises the US government on the pandemic, said the variant was now "raging through the world".

Countries are tightening measures as the heavily mutated variant spreads.

In Europe, France and Germany are among those to issue travel restrictions and the Netherlands has imposed a strict lockdown over Christmas.

Governments are also ramping up their Covid booster vaccination programmes after researchers said the additional shot could provide around 85% protection against severe illness.