A corporate Christmas party turned into the biggest Omicron 'super spreader event' outside South Africa, with up to 60 people infected

• In Norway, a Christmas party turned into an Omicron "super spreader event," with up to 60 possible infections.

• The outbreak is the biggest outside South Africa, where researchers first detected the new coronavirus variant.

• At least one person who attended the party had recently returned from South Africa.

A corporate Christmas party in Norway turned into an Omicron "super spreader event," with up to 60 people possibly infected, officials say.

The outbreak has become the biggest outside of South Africa, where researchers first detected the new coronavirus variant.

"This party has been a super spreader event," Preben Aavitsland, a senior physician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, told Reuters.

"Our working hypothesis is that at least half of the 120 participants were infected with the Omicron variant during the party. This makes this, for now, the largest Omicron outbreak outside South Africa."

The party on November 26 was organized by renewable energy company Scatec, which also has operations in South Africa.

At least one person who attended the party had recently returned from South Africa, according to multiple reports.