The head of the European Union's public health agency said on Tuesday that 42 cases of infection with the COVID-19 Omicron variant have been confirmed in ten EU countries.

Andrea Ammon, who chairs the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC), told an online conference that authorities in the EU were analysing another six "probable" cases, noting that confirmed cases were mild or without symptoms.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alex Richardson)