WHO has warned about travel restrictions.
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Several European countries on Saturday announced their first cases of a highly contagious new strain of coronavirus, as governments worldwide began closing shutters to contain the Omicron variant. new.
Britain, Germany and Italy have confirmed their first cases of the new strain of Covid-19, while Dutch authorities have quarantined 61 passengers from South Africa who tested positive for Covid-19.
South Africa complains it is being punished with an air travel ban for the first time discovering a strain of bacteria that the World Health Organization calls a “worrying variant”.
A host of countries around the world have begun restricting travel from the region, to try to confront any threat to global efforts to combat the pandemic.
Scientists are racing to determine the threat posed by the heavily mutated strain, especially whether it can evade existing vaccines. It has proven to be easier to transmit than the dominant Delta variant.
Travelers have gathered at Johannesburg’s international airport, trying to squeeze on the last few flights to countries that have imposed sudden travel bans. Many of these have cut short vacations, rushing back from safaris and vineyards in South Africa.
“It’s ridiculous, we will always have new variations,” British tourist David Good told AFP, passport in hand. “South Africa found it, but it’s probably all over the world already.”
‘Variety worth it’
The virus has slipped through the net, with cases detected in Europe, Hong Kong and Israel and in southern Arica.
Britain on Saturday announced stricter entry regulations for all arriving passengers and the return of masks, after confirming the first two cases of the new Omicron line of Covid-19.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said masks would again be required in shops and public transport.
A hospital in the Czech Republic has confirmed a case of Omicron variant in a female patient from Namibia.
Germany confirmed the first two cases in travelers arriving at Munich airport from South Africa.
Italy has announced its first case of a new strain of Covid in a traveler from Mozambique.
And Dutch officials said the Omicron variant was “probably” among 61 passengers who had arrived on two flights from South Africa a day earlier and tested positive for Covid-19.
People on two KLM flights, which took off before the Netherlands announced a ban on visitors from the area, are being quarantined in a hotel.
In the US, a White House official said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the Omicron situation and that health officials are monitoring events.
On Friday, Belgium announced its first case in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad.
The WHO says it can take several weeks to understand the variant, which was originally called B.1.1.529. It warns against travel curbs while scientific evidence remains scant.
‘draconian’ measures
South Africa called the travel curbs “draconian” and on Saturday said the flight ban “is like punishing South Africa for its advanced gene sequencing and ability to detect new variants more quickly.
“Science excellence should be applauded and not punished,” the State Department said in a statement.
The main countries targeted for the shutdown include South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “praising South African scientists for quickly identifying the Omicron variant and for the South African government’s transparency in sharing this information, which will serve as a model for the world.” world,” a State Department statement said.
The statement is a thin slap at China’s handling of information about the initial outbreak in Wuhan, which the United States has criticized as uncooperative.
Biden said richer countries should donate more Covid-19 vaccines and waive intellectual property protections to produce more doses around the world.
“The news of this new variant will make it clearer than ever why this pandemic will not end until we have universal vaccinations,” he said.
But with memories still fresh of how global air travel helped spread Covid after it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. the country was quickly restrained.
Australia and Belgium became the latest countries to take action, banning all flights from nine South African countries.
And Australian health authorities say they are conducting “urgent genetic testing” for the strain of Omicron bacteria in two passengers – whose trip originated in southern Africa – who tested positive. infected with the virus after taking a flight from Doha to Sydney.
South Korea and Thailand have restricted flights from eight countries, as has the US, Brazil, Canada and Saudi Arabia.
EU officials agreed in an emergency meeting to urge all 27 countries in the bloc to limit travel from southern Africa. Many members have done so.
The World Trade Organization suspended its ministerial meeting, its largest in four years, at the last minute on Friday due to the new variant.
Vaccine manufacturers had hoped that they could modify existing vaccines to target the Omicron variant.
Germany’s BioNTech and US drugmaker Pfizer said they expect data “in two weeks at the latest” to indicate whether their forays can be adjusted.
Moderna says it will develop a new variant-specific booster.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
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