The WHO recently declared a novel COVID-19 variant discovered in South Africa as a highly transmissible virus of concern, naming it "Omicron" in the Greek-letter system. The alpha and delta variants have already appeared.
Markets plummeted on Friday as countries rushed to suspend air travel, and scientists convened emergency meetings to assess the risks, which were mainly unknown. Medical authorities, including the World Health Organization, have urged against overreacting until the southern African variety is properly known.
The news about this latest COVID-19 variant sure has left people concerned, sending shockwaves around the globe on Friday. However, turns out that netizens have other concerns.
Turns out, the WHO made a rather unexpected choice for an unexpected variant.
Some say that the name 'Omicron' and is related to 'Futurama', an animated show that aired from 1999 to 2003 and lasted seven seasons. In other words, the 'Omicronians' are a race of beings from the Futurama universe.
Apart from that, another cartoon character is gaining popularity on the various social media platforms. On Twitter, many people immediately linked the Omicron name to the Transformers' villainous Decepticons.
Some have even raised questions as to why someone would pick 'Omicron' as a name for the new variant.
Have a look at a few such reactions, including memes below:
