Several European countries announced on Saturday that they had detected the first cases of the new and highly contagious coronavirus variant, while governments around the world began to apply restrictions to close the door to the Omicron variant.
United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Czech Republic confirmed the first cases of the variant while the authorities of Holland quarantined 61 passengers from South Africa who gave positive for Covid-19.
Meanwhile, South Africa claims it is being “punished” with travel restrictions for being the first to spot the variant this week.
Scientists race to determine the threat level of the variant, especially if it is resistant to existing vaccines. It has already proven to be more transmissible than Delta variant.
Following its emergence, countries around the world began adopting travel restrictions to curb any threat to the fight against the coronavirus.
The United Kingdom now requires that anyone arriving in the country, wherever they come from, undergo a PCR test and remain isolated until the result is obtained. In addition, the mask will once again be mandatory in stores.
Previously, the British Health Department announced that it had identified two cases compatible with the new variant in people who traveled “to southern Africa.”
Germany also confirmed two infections with the Omicron strain in travelers arriving from South Africa at the Munich airport (south) while Italy detected a case in a man who had returned from Mozambique.
Meanwhile, a hospital in the Czech Republic confirmed a case of the Omicron variant in a woman who had been to Namibia and Belgium detected a case in a person who came from abroad.
On Friday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) stated that the risk of the new variant of Covid-19 spreading across Europe is “high to very high.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that this variant is “worrisome” like the currently dominant Delta and those previously detected, Alpha, Beta and Spectrum.
In addition, a case has been detected in Hong Kong and another in Israel in a person who returned from Malawi.
“Punished”
The new mutation was first reported by South Africa on November 24. Since Friday, more and more countries suspend travel with South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini (or Swaziland), Mozambique and in some cases Malawi.
This Saturday, the South African government said “punished” for having detected the new variant and regretted that its scientific excellence at the time of discovering it ended up penalizing the country.
For his part, the American president, Joe bidenGiven the emergence of this new variant, he urged to donate more vaccines to poor countries.
In turn, the US Secretary of State, Antony blinken, in a statement “praised South African scientists for the rapid identification of the Omicron variant and the South African government for its transparency in sharing information.”
The coronavirus has left more than 5.18 million deaths worldwide since its appearance in China at the end of 2019, although the WHO estimates that the real figures could be much higher.
The United States has banned travelers from southern Africa from entering its territory, while Canada, Brazil and Saudi Arabia have also adopted restrictions.
In Asia, Japan will tighten its entry restrictions, with 10 days of isolation for all arrivals from South Africa, Thailand will ban their entry from December and South Korea will apply visa restrictions and a quarantine from Sunday.
On his side, the European Union (EU) has recommended suspending travel from South Africa and six other countries in the region.
Several European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy or Switzerland, banned flights from those countries, a measure that will be applied from Sunday in Russia and Tuesday in Spain.
Rebound in Europe
Omicron’s emergency coincides with a spike in Covid-19 cases in Europe, which has forced the authorities of different countries to strengthen sanitary measures.
Fears related to the new variant caused both stocks and oil prices to collapse, a market that on Friday experienced its worst day in 17 months.
On Friday, the WHO said it could take several weeks to determine whether the new variant entails changes in the transmissibility or severity of Covid-19, as well as in the efficacy of vaccines.
Laboratories Pfizer / BioNTech reported that they were urgently studying the efficacy of their immunizer against this new variant and that they would have data “in two weeks at the latest.”
This Saturday, Andrew Pollard, British scientist who led the research on the vaccine Oxford / AstraZeneca he estimated that a new one could be made against the Omicron variant “very quickly.”
About 54% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of Covid vaccineBut in low-income countries, this proportion is only 5.6%, according to the Our World in Data portal.
