Many European countries find Omicron cases as concerns grow | Coronavirus Plague News

The United Kingdom, Germany and Italy have been relatively recent countries criminal prosecution about the new version of the Omicron coronavirus, in which many countries have imposed travel restrictions on southern African countries despite demonstrations and opposition to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.

Omicron, elected a “variety of worries” by the United Nations health agency, could be more contagious than previous models, though experts do not know if they can make COVID-19 less effective than other types.

Two Omicron cases found in the UK on Saturday were linked to southern Africa, British Health Minister Sajid Javid said.

Speaking afterwards, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also outlined ways to include stricter rules for testing immigrants who have set limits on sports activities other than wearing masks in some areas.

“We want anyone who enters the UK to undergo PCR testing by the end of the second day to come and isolate themselves until they get negative results,” Johnson told a news conference.

People who have met with people who have been diagnosed with the Omicron problem should be separated for 10 days and the government will tighten face masks, Johnson said, adding that the procedures will be reviewed after three weeks. .

The German Ministry of Health in Bavaria also announced two such cases. The two men arrived in Germany at Munich airport on November 24, before Germany declared South Africa an infected country, and they were isolating themselves, the ministry said, expressing anonymity that they were from South Africa.

In Italy, the National Health Institute reports that the case has been found in Milan by a man from Mozambique.

Czech health officials have also said they are investigating a case suspected to be different from a person who has lived in Namibia.

Dutch health officials also said Omicron was “probably” one of the 61 people infected with the virus after arriving on two planes from South Africa.

The Chief Medical Officer of England, Chris Witty, said at the same Johnson meeting that there was little suspicion of Omicron, but “there is a possibility that there may be an escape vaccine with this species”.

Oksana Pyzik, of the University College London School of Pharmacy, told Al Jazeera that it would take several weeks for researchers to determine the dangers of Omicron-induced symptoms.

“These differences were first identified, which is very good but the opposite is that it will take time to understand,” Pyzik said.

“If all we have learned from the epidemic so far is that immediate action is needed, then if there is a false warning about this, it has given countries enough time to prepare for the crisis – which, when we return to March 2020, most countries have not.”

Routes through

These variants, which include a number of mutations that could be at risk of re-infection, were first discovered by scientists in South Africa and later found in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that it may take weeks to determine whether the latest mutations have made the virus more virulent or contagious.

And although epidemics say crossings may be too late to stop Omicron from spreading around the world, many countries around the world – including the United States, Brazil, Canada and the European Union – have announced travel bans or restrictions in southern Africa on Friday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and government departments added Saturday to sanctions already announced by Washington, advising them not to travel to eight southern African countries.

Also on Saturday, Australia said it was barring non-citizens living in nine countries in southern Africa from entering and would be required to stay in a permanent state for 14 days for Australian citizens returning from there.

The UK has said it is developing a “red line” to establish travel routes for southern Africa, while South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Oman, Kuwait and Hungary have announced a ban on southern African countries.

In South Africa, there were concerns that travel arrangements could jeopardize the tourism industry and other economic sectors affected by the epidemic, which was criticized by officials and scientists who said this was not appropriate.

“The government has said that South Africa has been at the forefront of testing and implementing the changes in COVID-19, and scientists are convinced that it is important to see what the latest changes show before making decisions,” said Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller. , a report from Johannesburg. “And that sentiment has spread to ordinary people as many believe that South Africa is being treated unfairly.”

In a statement on Saturday, South Africa’s foreign ministry said that “the fact that many countries have banned flights from southern Africa after finding these items” is similar to ” punishing South Africa with its advancing genomic sequence and the ability to quickly identify new species ”.

“The best science is to be commended and not punished,” he said.

The ministry said that new species had been discovered in some countries.

“Each of these cases did not have a recent agreement with Southern Africa, but the way these countries deal with it is very different from what is happening in Southern Africa,” it said.

Omicron has come out as a number of European countries are already battling COVID-19, and some have even introduced sports restrictions to prevent the spread. Austria and Slovakia have entered the blockade.

The availability of these products also led to a sell-off in the financial markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could prevent a global recovery from the two-year epidemic.