France’s Omicron infection follows a case found on a French Indian Ocean island last month (File)
Paris / Washington:
Omicron could become the dominant COVID-19 variant in France by the end of January, the top scientific adviser said on Thursday, after both France and the United States reported their first cases and the Countries around the world tighten restrictions.
The first known case in the United States was a fully vaccinated person in California who returned to the United States from South Africa on November 22 and tested positive seven days later. France has reported one case in the Ile de France region of Paris.
President Joe Biden is formulating a strategy to combat COVID-19 this winter, and sources briefed on the matter told Reuters one step would extend the requirement for travelers to wear masks through mid-month. Three. An official announcement is expected on Thursday.
The White House also plans to announce more stringent checks on international visitors.
French government adviser Jean-Francois Delfraissy told BFM broadcaster that the “real enemy” for now remains the Delta variant, which is spreading in the fifth wave.
“We’ll see a gradual increase in the Omicron variant, which will take over from Delta,” he said, possibly towards the end of January.
The French Omicron infection follows a case found on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion last month.
Reuters shows that airlines in the US have transferred the names of passengers arriving from parts of southern Africa.
Much is still unknown about Omicron, which was first found on 8 November in South Africa and has spread to at least two dozen countries, as well as parts of Europe that are suffering an increase of infection of the Delta variant is better known as winter begins.
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Wednesday said it could take two weeks or more to gain insight into how easily the variant spreads, how severe the disease is. it causes and whether it can evade existing vaccines.
South Africa’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NICD) says initial epidemiological data suggest that Omicron may ward off some immunity, but existing vaccines should still protect against the disease. severity and death.
Epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a press conference that data should be available “within days” on Omicron’s ability to spread.
BioNTech’s CEO says the vaccine they’ve developed in partnership with Pfizer has the potential to provide strong protection against serious disease from Omicron.
And GlaxoSmithKline says that a laboratory analysis of an antibody-based COVID-19 therapy the company is developing with US partner Vir has shown the drug to be effective against the Omicron variant.
This contrasts with Regeneron’s study of its COVID-19 antibody drug, which it says may be less effective against Omicron, raising further concerns about the effectiveness of existing treatments. . Moderna’s top executives have raised similar concerns about the company’s vaccines.
Indicators suggest Omicron may be more contagious than previous variants that have roiled financial markets, fears that the new restrictions could hamper the expected recovery from the economic impact of epidemic.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 1.3% in early Thursday trading and equity market indexes in Japan and Australia were weaker. Wall Street’s main averages fell more than 1% on Wednesday as investors reacted to the first US case and heightened concerns about inflation.
Central Bank of Japan board member Hitoshi Suzuki said Japan’s economic recovery may fall short of expectations if the spread of the Omicron variant limiting consumption or supply bottlenecks persists. continue.
Travel restrictions
About 56 countries are believed to have implemented travel measures as a precaution against Omicron as of November 28, the WHO said.
In the latest restrictions, South Korea, which confirmed its first five cases of the Omicron variants on Wednesday, has halted quarantine exemptions for fully vaccinated domestic travelers. in two weeks as the number of daily coronavirus infections rose to a new high.
The United States has banned nearly all foreigners who have been in one of the eight South African countries.
The European Union has set a date to start rolling out vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 until December 13, as the president of the European Union’s executive body said there was a “race against time”. ” to prevent the new variant .
The UK and the US have both expanded booster programs in response to the new variant, although WHO says rich countries should share more vaccines with vulnerable people in poorer countries where variants are more likely to appear as long as vaccination rates are low.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
