Real-world data released by South Korea’s health authorities shows that people infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75 per cent less likely to develop a serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, Reuters reports.

A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) of some 67,200 infections confirmed since December showed the Omicron variant’s severity and death rates averaged 0.38pc and 0.18pc, respectively, compared with 1.4pc and 0.7pc for the Delta cases.

The KDCA classed severe cases as people who were hospitalised in intensive care units.