UK, Germany and Italy have recognized separate Omicron cases, Israel closes borders with Reuters

Author Costas Pitas, Madeline Chambers and Toby Sterling

LONDON / BERLIN / AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Britain, Germany and Italy unveiled a new species of Omicron coronavirus on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new ways to carry the virus, with many countries banning travel from southern Africa.

The availability of these products has caused global concern, the imposition of bans or restrictions and the sale of stock markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could impede global recovery from the two-year epidemic.

Israel has said it will ban all foreigners from entering the country and re-establishing anti-terrorism technology to facilitate the spread of these forms.

Two Omicron cases linked to Britain were linked to southern Africa, British Health Minister Sajid Javid said.

Johnson has put in place measures that include strict immigration laws but that have limited the limits on sports performance other than wearing a mask in some places.

“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 protection laws, Johnson said, adding that this will be clarified after three weeks.

The German Ministry of Health in Bavaria also announced two such cases. The two arrived in Germany at Munich airport on Nov. 24, before Germany declared South Africa an HIV-positive country, and was now isolating itself, the ministry said, indicating without any indication that the people had left 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.

Omicron, dubbed “a variety of stressors” by the World Health Organization, is more contagious than other types of the disease, although experts do not know if they can produce more or less COVID-19 compared to other strains.

The Chief Medical Officer of England, Chris Witty, said at the same Johnson meeting that there was no uncertainty surrounding Omicron, but “there is a possibility of a vaccine escape with this species”.

The variety was first discovered in South Africa and was also found in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.

FLIGHT TO AMSTERDAM

Dutch officials say 61 of the approximately 600 people who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa on Friday tested positive for coronavirus. Health officials were also trying to determine if the cases related to the new changes.

One of the riders who arrived from South Africa on Friday, Dutch artist Paula Zimmerman, said she was found to be missing but worried about the days to come.

“I have been told he expects a lot of people to get tested in five days. It’s a little scary that you have been on a plane with a lot of people who have been tested,” he said.

The stock market crashed Friday, especially for airline and other stockbrokers. Oil prices have dropped by about $ 10 a barrel.

It may take weeks for scientists to fully understand the evolutionary process and whether the available vaccines and drugs are effective against them.

TRANSPORT PLANNING

Although epidemic experts say crossings could 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 – announced sanctions or bans 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.

U.S. Deputy President Kamala Harris told reporters Saturday that officials should take “one part at a time,” when asked about other travel restrictions. “So far we have done what we think is important,” Harris said.

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.

Japan and Britain are said to be expanding travel to more African countries, with South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Oman, Kuwait and Hungary announcing new travel bans.

South Africa is concerned that anti-tourism policies and other economic sectors, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, adding that the government is working with countries that have imposed travel bans to persuade them to reconsider.

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.

PROTECTION

The new diversity has also highlighted the diversity in which people around the world are vaccinated. While most developed countries are offering third-party supplementation, less than 7% of low-income individuals have received their first dose of COVID-19, according to medical and human rights groups.

Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI Vaccine Alliance who is the WHO director of COVAX’s approach to insisting that vaccines be distributed fairly, said this was important to prevent the spread of multiple strains of coronavirus.

“While we still need to know more about Omicron, we know that as long as most people in the world do not have a vaccine, the species will continue to appear, and the epidemic will continue to grow,” he told Reuters. .

“We will only ban racism if we can protect all people in the world, not just the rich.”