New Coronavirus News from 28 Nov 2021

U.S. Governors Respond to Omicron Variant [The New York Times, 28 Nov 2021]

By Melina Delkic and Giulia Heyward

Governors urge caution in the United States on the Omicron variant.

Governors across the United States tried to reassure Americans on Sunday that their administrations were closely monitoring the impact of a new coronavirus variant that has alarmed scientists.

Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut issued a statement on Sunday reminding his constituents to remain vigilant even though the new variant, known as Omicron, had yet to be detected in the United States.

“Given the number of countries where Omicron has already been detected, it may already be present in the U.S.,” he said in the statement.

Other state leaders took the same tone, urging caution as well as highlighting the measures they had already put in place earlier in the pandemic. Mr. Lamont pointed to the network of labs sequencing genomes in his state and reminded residents to wear masks in indoor public spaces.

Next door in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday. Under her executive order, all state agencies are authorized “to take appropriate action to assist local governments and individuals” in containing and responding to the coronavirus. Although the measures are a far cry from early pandemic rules, they were the nation’s first attempt to accelerate preparation for the arrival of the Omicron variant.

“We continue to see warning signs of spikes this upcoming winter, and while the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it’s coming,” Ms. Hochul said in a release.
Coronavirus cases in the United States by region

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Twitter on Sunday that the state was monitoring the new variant. He did not announce any new measures but said that the coronavirus vaccine and booster shot were essential.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health echoed that message and said in a statement, “More studies are needed to determine whether the Omicron variant is more contagious, more deadly or resistant to vaccine and treatments than other Covid-19 strains.” The department added that people in Los Angeles should adhere to existing mask requirements.

“While we are still learning much about Omicron, we know enough about Covid to take steps now that can reduce transmission as we prepare to better understand the additional strategies that may needed to mitigate this new variant of concerns,” the statement said.

Health leaders in the United States have said that it is all but inevitable that the variant will reach the country and called this a time for caution but not panic.

The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to Know

Card 1 of 4
The Omicron variant. The latest variant was identified on Nov. 25 by scientists in South Africa.
As experts race to learn more, it’s still unclear if the variant leads to severe illness and how effective vaccines will be against it. Use our tracker to see where Omicron has been detected.
Travel restrictions and lockdowns. As more Omicron cases emerge globally, countries are responding in varied ways. Japan joined Israel and Morocco in barring all foreign travelers, and Australia delayed reopening its borders for two weeks. Here’s a list of where U.S. citizens can travel right now.

What officials are saying. President Biden sought to reassure the U.S. on Monday, telling Americans that the variant is “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” W.H.O. officials warned that the global risk posed by Omicron was “very high”, and the C.D.C said all adults “should” get booster shots.

Economic impact. After stocks dropped heavily following the initial news of Omicron’s discovery, global markets appeared to steady on Monday. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that Omicron creates more inflation uncertainty.

“We’re going to get better information about this,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “But there’s no reason to panic. But it is a great reason to go get boosted.”

Some leaders sought to reassure residents. Gov. Dan McKee of Rhode Island said that its health department was not aware of any cases in the state linked to the variant, although he said that the state would continue to be on the lookout.

“The best way to keep RI safe: Get vaccinated. Get your booster,” he said on Twitter.
On Sunday, his office issued a statement saying that the state’s health laboratories already perform genomic surveillance on samples, “which would identify the Omicron variant.”

Two governors of more conservative states addressed concerns about the variant, too, but maintained their position that vaccine mandates were off the table for now.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas said on “State of the Union” that while a new variant “is a great concern,” encouraging vaccinations would work better than forcing them.

Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi made similar statements on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’re certainly monitoring this new variant,” he said. “We don’t have all the data that we need to make decisions at this time.”

World Omicron Fight Hindered by Fragmented Response [The New York Times, 28 Nov 2021]

By Jason Horowitz

Almost two years into the pandemic, finger-pointing, lack of coordination, sparse information and fear are once again influencing policy.

ROME — In a wrenchingly familiar cycle of tracking first cases, pointing fingers and banning travel, nations worldwide reacted Monday to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the piecemeal fashion that has defined — and hobbled — the pandemic response all along.

As here-we-go-again fear and resignation gripped much of the world, the World Health Organization warned that the risk posed by the heavily mutated variant was “very high.” But operating once again in a vacuum of evidence, governments chose approaches that differed between continents, between neighboring countries, and even between cities within those countries.

Little is known about Omicron beyond its large number of mutations; it will be weeks, at least, before scientists can say with confidence whether it is more contagious — early evidence suggests it is — whether it causes more serious illness, and how it responds to vaccines.

In China, which had been increasingly alone in sealing itself off as it sought to eradicate the virus, a newspaper controlled by the Communist Party gloated about democracies that are now following suit as Japan, Australia and other countries gave up flirting with a return to normalcy and slammed their borders shut to the world. The West, it said, had hoarded vaccines at the expense of poorer regions, and was now paying a price for its selfishness.

In the United States, federal officials called Monday on vaccinated people to get booster shots.
President Biden sought to reassure Americans, saying that the new variant is “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic” and that his administration was already working with vaccine manufacturers to modify vaccines, should that prove necessary.

“We’re throwing everything we have at this virus, tracking it from every angle,” the president said in an appearance at the White House.

In southern Africa, where scientists first identified Omicron amid a largely unvaccinated population, leaders deplored the travel bans as ruinous and counterproductive to tracking the virus, saying they could discourage transparency about outbreaks. African officials also noted that because of the inequity in distribution of vaccines, the continent faces this latest variant with little to no protection.

But with vaccine deliveries to Africa becoming more reliable, some states looked to a vaccine mandate to curb the spread of the coronavirus. On Sunday, Ghana’s government announced that government employees, health care workers and staff and students at most schools must be vaccinated by Jan. 22.

Europe which has acted in unusual concert in barring travel from southern Africa, is speeding up booster shots in the hope that they will work against Omicron, and adjusting or reconsidering a hodgepodge of social-distancing measures, even in restriction-resistant countries such as Britain.

“The lack of a consistent and coherent global approach has resulted in a splintered and disjointed response, breeding misunderstanding, misinformation and mistrust,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization director.

The W.H.O. convened a three-day special session to discuss a treaty that would ensure prompt sharing of data and technology and equitable access to vaccines. The European Union has pushed for the agreement to be legally binding, but the United States has balked.

The very proposal underlined that two years into a devastating pandemic that has killed millions, devastated national economies and robbed many of the world’s children of nearly two years of formative experiences, there is still no global plan for getting out of it.

As the largely vaccinated West clings to initial reports that Omicron may cause milder illness and may be susceptible to vaccines, entire swaths of Africa remain essentially unvaccinated.
Some nations, like South Africa, have sufficient doses but have struggled to distribute them. Others lack the freezers, logistical infrastructure and medical personnel to inoculate their populations.

That has given the virus plenty of time and bodies in which to multiply and mutate.

The travel bans are intended to buy time as scientists determine whether the mutations in new variant will allow it to dodge existing vaccines. But they also seemed to suggest that core lessons from the early phase of the pandemic must be learned again: An infection discovered somewhere is likely everywhere — or may be soon enough — and a single case detected means many more undetected.

On Monday, Portugal reported 13 Omicron cases — all tied to a single soccer team — and Scotland reported six, while the numbers in South Africa continued to soar.

Experts warned that the variant will reach every part of the world, if it hasn’t already.

The leaders of the world’s top powers insisted that they understood this, but their assurances also had a strong whiff of geopolitics.

President Xi Jinping of China offered one billion doses of Covid vaccine to Africa, on top of nearly 200 million that Beijing has already shipped to the continent, during an address to a conference in Senegal by video link.

The Global Times, a Chinese tabloid controlled by the Communist Party, boasted of China’s success in thwarting virus transmission, and said the West was now paying the price for its selfish policies. “Western countries control most of the resources needed to fight the Covid-19 pandemic,” it wrote. “But they have failed to curb the spread of the virus and have exposed more and more developing countries to the virus.”

Mr. Biden said the United States had sent more free vaccines abroad than all other countries in the world combined. “Now we need the rest of the world to step up as well,” he said.

European health ministers seemed to agree.

“The identification of the Omicron variant in the southern part of Africa confirms the urgency to do more to vaccinate the population of the most fragile countries,” Italy’s health minister, Roberto Speranza, said at a virtual meeting of health ministers representing seven of the world’s wealthiest large democracies.

He called on those countries to help administer vaccines. “It is not enough to donate doses,” Mr. Speranza said.

Within a few days of seeing evidence of a new variant, South African scientists, who run the continent’s most advanced genomic sequencing labs, had identified it. Last Wednesday, they made their findings public.

After other parts of the world, including the United States and the European Union, responded with travel bans on southern Africa, South African officials protested that their country was being punished for its speed and transparency.

The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to Know

Card 1 of 4
The Omicron variant. The latest variant was identified on Nov. 25 by scientists in South Africa.
As experts race to learn more, it’s still unclear if the variant leads to severe illness and how effective vaccines will be against it. Use our tracker to see where Omicron has been detected.

Travel restrictions and lockdowns. As more Omicron cases emerge globally, countries are responding in varied ways. Japan joined Israel and Morocco in barring all foreign travelers, and Australia delayed reopening its borders for two weeks. Here’s a list of where U.S. citizens can travel right now.

What officials are saying. President Biden sought to reassure the U.S. on Monday, telling Americans that the variant is “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” W.H.O. officials warned that the global risk posed by Omicron was “very high”, and the C.D.C said all adults “should” get booster shots.

Economic impact. After stocks dropped heavily following the initial news of Omicron’s discovery, global markets appeared to steady on Monday. Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that Omicron creates more inflation uncertainty.

Responses to the coronavirus have been as varied as the nations that are threatened by it.

Israel, the first nation to block travel in response to Omicron, granted its intelligence service temporary permission to monitor the phone data of people with confirmed cases of the variant.

In Italy, which has kept infections low with some of the most stringent rules in Europe, the country’s conference of mayors urged the government to impose a national outdoor mask mandate from Dec. 6 until Jan. 15, as crowds gather to shop for and celebrate Christmas.

Even Britain, which has taken a lax approach to mask wearing and other social-distancing measures, has stepped up its response in the face of Omicron. The country introduced new mask mandates and new travel restrictions and appeared to soften its opposition to vaccine passports and requiring masks in restaurants. And Britain’s vaccine advisory board announced on Monday that it is suggesting an expansion of the country’s booster program.

In Germany, already hard hit by the latest pandemic wave, fear of the Omicron variant was palpable.

“It feels different from the first bits of information we got about the Delta variant,” said Christian Drosten, a prominent German virologist, describing himself as “pretty worried.”

On Monday, the German government announced that Angela Merkel, state governors and Olaf Scholz, who is to succeed Ms. Merkel as chancellor next week, had moved up a planned meeting about potential lockdown measures by nine days.

“We need to buy time,” said Karl Lauterbach, a member of the Parliament and public health expert who is considered a strong candidate to be the new German government’s health minister, said on Twitter. “Nothing is worse than a new variant into an ongoing wave.”

Pauline Londeix, a prominent French advocate for broader access to medicines and transparent drug policies, told France Inter radio on Monday that variants would continue to emerge unless richer countries shared more vaccines. “We need a much more systemic approach,” she said.

The European Commission on Monday urged member states not to impose additional travel restrictions on their citizens.

In contrast to Europe’s patchwork of regulations, China has had a more consistent and plainer policy: It is essentially sealed off as it pursues a “zero Covid” strategy.

China has steadfastly kept a high wall against visitors from the rest of the world. Foreign residents and visa holders are allowed in only under limited circumstances, leading to concerns by some within the business world that Covid restrictions were leaving the country increasingly isolated.

Visitors must submit to two-week quarantines upon arrival and face potential limits on their movement after that. Movements are tracked via monitoring smartphone apps, which display color codes that can signal whether a person has traveled from or through an area with recent infections, triggering instructions to remain in one place.

In other parts of Asia, people are less focused on eradicating the virus than just surviving it.

“This news is terrifying,” said Gurinder Singh, 57, in New Delhi, who worried about his shop going under. “If this virus spreads in India, the government will shut the country again, and we will be forced to beg.”

Reporting was contributed by Declan Walsh from Nairobi, Patrick Kingsley from Jerusalem, Carlos Tejada from Seoul, Sameer Yasir from Srinagar, India, Lynsey Chutel from South Africa, Aurelien Breeden from Paris, Elian Peltier and Monika Pronczuk from Brussels, Megan Specia from London, Christopher F. Schuetze from Berlin, Emma Bubola from Rome and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva.

Omicron Covid-19 variant could already be in U.S., Fauci says [NBC News, 28 Nov 2021]

By Nicole Acevedo

"We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility," it will "go essentially all over,” Biden's chief medical adviser said.


It is possible that omicron, a new coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, could already be in the United States, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

While there are no confirmed cases of the new variant in the States, Fauci said he "would not be surprised" if omicron already made its way to the U.S.

"We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you're already having travel-related cases that they've been noted in Israel and Belgium and in other places — when you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over,” Fauci told "Weekend TODAY" on Saturday.

The new variant is concerning because it "has a large number of mutations" that potentially makes this virus more contagious than other variants, according to Fauci.

"We don't know that yet, but we're going to assume that's the case," he said, adding that the large number of mutations also suggested the new variant "could evade the protection" of coronavirus treatments such as monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma as well as the Covid-19 vaccines.

"These are all maybes, but the suggestion is enough," Fauci said. "This is something we got to pay really close attention to and be prepared for something that's serious. It may not turn out that way, but you really want to be ahead of it."

Two cases of the variant have been identified in the U.K., Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Saturday. He added that the people involved were linked to each other and to travel to southern Africa, where omicron was first detected earlier this week.

As public health experts try to find concrete answers to questions about whether the omicron variant causes more severe illness and if it can evade protection from vaccines and treatments, President Joe Biden announced new travel restrictions Friday.

Restrictions for travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi are set to begin Monday.

Travel restrictions are only helpful in giving the U.S. more time to better assess the situation and respond accordingly; it won't stop the spread of the new variant, Fauci said.

Fauci, who also serves as Biden's chief medical adviser, doubled down on how it is "absolutely essential that unvaccinated people get vaccinated and that vaccinated people get boosters" and wear masks during indoor congregations.