(Bloomberg) -- International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva expects the organization to pare back its expectations for the global economic rebound as the number of Covid-19 cases attributable to the new omicron strain picks up.

“We are likely to see some downgrades of our October projections for global growth,” Georgieva said at conference hosted by Reuters Friday. New strains of the coronavirus “very rapidly can dent confidence,” she said.

The Washington-based IMF in October predicted that the global economy would expand 4.9% next year. For 2021, it had trimmed its outlook to 5.9%. 

Read More: IMF Trims View on Growth Rebound as ‘Dangerous Divergence’ Seen

Problems that pre-date the emergence of omicron are now entrenching, including a deepening divergence between some countries recovering faster from the pandemic and others falling behind, Georgieva said.

In the meantime, “new problems are stepping forward for policy makers -- in particular, inflation,” she said. 

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