56 countries are said to have taken travel measures as a precaution against Omicron as of 1128: WHO
WASHINGTON / TOKYO:
Travelers arriving in the United States by air will face tougher COVID-19 testing rules, as some countries move to blockade their borders amid uncertainty about the virus’s virulence. Omicron variant and its ability to evade existing vaccines.
In the Asia-Pacific, Japan and Hong Kong said they would expand travel routes, while Australia braced for more cases of the coronavirus variant after at least two people visited several locations. point in its biggest city while potentially infectious.
In an effort to prevent hasty border crossings, the World Health Organization (WHO) urges countries to adopt an “evidence-based and risk-based approach” to their measures. tourism, saying that “travel bans will not stop the spread internationally, and they place a heavy emphasis on lives and livelihoods”.
Investors kept the edge on Wednesday, even as financial markets tumbled to their lowest a day earlier after remarks by Moderna’s CEO raised questions about the effectiveness of a COVID vaccine. -19 against Omicron.
Global health officials have since offered reassurance and reiterated calls for people to get vaccinated.
“Even as the new variant becomes more common, the vaccines we have in place will continue to provide protection,” said European Medicines Agency chief executive Emer Cooke.
Laboratory analyzes will show in the next two weeks whether the blood of those vaccinated has enough antibodies to neutralize the new variant, Cooke said, echoing comments made by vaccine maker BioNTech and scientists.
BioNTech’s CEO says the vaccine the company has partnered with Pfizer has the potential to provide strong protection against serious illness from Omicron.
The UK and the US have both promoted their booster programs in response to the new variant.
First reported in southern Africa a week ago, Omicron has sparked global alarm, market turmoil, led to travel bans and underscored the disparity between a massive push to vaccinate in rich countries and vaccination is sparse in developing countries.
About 56 countries are believed to have implemented travel measures as a precaution against Omicron as of November 28, the WHO said.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “I understand well the interest of all countries in protecting their citizens against a variant that we do not fully understand.
“But I am also concerned that some member states are introducing blunt, gentle measures that are not based on evidence or effectiveness of their own, and that this will only exacerbate grievances. equality,” Ghebreyesus added.
BORDER CONTROL
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late Tuesday that the United States is in the process of requiring that all customers who do not enter the country have a negative COVID-19 test performed. within one day of departure.
Currently, vaccinated international travelers can test negative within three days of their departure. The new one-day test requirement will apply to US citizens as well as foreign nationals.
Officials said the administration is also considering whether to require airliners to take another test within three to five days of arrival.
While the CDC doesn’t confirm that, the CDC notes that it continues to recommend that all “travelers get tested for COVID-19 three to five days after arrival” and “post-departure quarantine.” travel to any unvaccinated traveler”.
The CDC lists about 80 foreign destinations with “Level Four,” the highest level of COVID-19 transmission, and discourages Americans from traveling to those destinations.
In Asia, Japan, which has closed its borders to all new foreigners, said it would extend the ban to foreigners with residency status from 10 African countries, including including South Africa.
Hong Kong will extend its entry ban for non-residents to three more countries, Japan, Portugal and Sweden, as of Friday.
South Korea’s Interior and Safety Minister Jeon Hae-cheol has called for stricter virus containment measures for Omicron, after suspected cases were imported from Nigeria.
The country, which has reported a daily record of more than 5,000 COVID-19 cases, has so far not detected any confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.
Global airlines are bracing for new upheavals, analysts say, as Omicron could force them to adjust schedules and destinations at short notice.
Deidre Fulton, a partner at consulting firm MIDAS Aviation, said at an industry webinar: “It feels like we’re going back to where we were a year ago and it’s not a Great prospects for the industry and beyond.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
