Blinken discusses efforts to fight Omicron with international counterparts: State Dept

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including the newly discovered Omicron variant, during a virtual meeting with several foreign ministers and regional organization representatives, the State Department said on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including the newly discovered Omicron variant, during a virtual meeting with several foreign ministers and regional organisation representatives, the State Department said on Tuesday.

"Secretary of State Antony J Blinken met virtually with several foreign ministers and representatives of regional organizations involved in the response to the Omicron variant today," the press release said. "They exchanged information to better understand the Omicron variant, coordinate a global response, and accelerate efforts to combat COVID-19."

During the meeting, the top US diplomat called on partners to redouble international and domestic efforts to end the pandemic and discussed regional impacts of the Omicron variant.

Earlier in the day, Blinken announced that the United States has allocated an extra USD 580 million to support the pandemic response of seven multilateral organizations, including the WHO, UNICEF and FAO. (ANI/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )