New Coronavirus News from 30 Nov 2021a

1st French Omicron Case on Indian Ocean Island of Reunion [Voice of America, 30 Nov 2021]

PARIS —
Japan and France confirmed their first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus on Tuesday as countries around the world scrambled to close their doors or find ways to limit its spread while scientists study how damaging it might be.

The World Health Organization has warned that the global risk from the omicron variant is “very high” based on early evidence, saying it could lead to surges with “severe consequences.”

French authorities on Tuesday confirmed the first case of the omicron variant in the French island territory of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Patrick Mavingui, a microbiologist at the island’s research clinic for infectious diseases, said the person who has tested positive for the new variant is a 53-year-old man who had traveled to Mozambique and stopped in South Africa before returning to Reunion.

The man was placed in quarantine. He has “muscle pain and fatigue,” Mavingui said, according to public television Reunion 1ere.

Japan on Tuesday confirmed its first case in a visitor who recently arrived from Namibia, a day after banning all foreign visitors as an emergency precaution against the variant. A government spokesperson said the patient, a man in his 30s, tested positive upon arrival at Narita airport on Sunday and was isolated and is being treated at a hospital.

Cambodia barred entry to travelers from 10 African countries, citing the threat from the omicron variant. The move came just two weeks after Cambodia reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers on Nov. 15.

The new version was first identified days ago by researchers in South Africa.

WHO said there are “considerable uncertainties” about the omicron variant. But it said preliminary evidence raises the possibility that the variant has mutations that could help it both evade an immune-system response and boost its ability to spread from one person to another.
The WHO stressed that while scientists are hunting evidence to better understand this variant, countries should accelerate vaccinations as quickly as possible.

Despite the global worry, doctors in South Africa are reporting patients are suffering mostly mild symptoms so far. But they warn that it is early. Also, most of the new cases are in people in their 20s and 30s, who generally do not get as sick from COVID-19 as older patients.

India records lowest Covid caseload in 18 months amid Omicron concerns [La Prensa Latina, 30 Nov 2021]

New Delhi, Nov 30 (EFE).- India on Tuesday registered less than 7,000 coronavirus infections, the lowest daily caseload since May 2020, amid calls to ban international flights from countries where the Omicron variant of the virus has been detected.

According tot he Indian health ministry, the country recorded 6,990 cases of Covid-19 within the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to around 34.5 million.

The number of deaths during the period stood at 190, taking the total death toll to 468,980.

India continues to be the second worst affected country by the pandemic worldwide after the United States, which has registered over 48.4 million infections according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

India’s latest Covid figures are in sharp contrast to those witnessed during the second wave of the infection, which peaked in May 2021 with over 400,000 cases and more than 4,500 deaths being recorded every day.

According to experts, the real number of cases and casualties could be much higher, even as the country witnessed a collapse of its health system, with medical oxygen falling short in some cities, while crematoriums were overrun with the dead.

The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, first identified in South Africa, has triggered concern among Indian authorities over the possibility of a fresh surge.

The head of the Indian capital’s regional government on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to shut down air traffic with the countries where the new variant has been detected.

“Several countries have banned flights from the countries affected by the Omicron variant. Why are we delaying (the decision in this regard)?” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

“We delayed banning foreign flights even at the start of the first wave. Most of the foreign flights land in Delhi, it becomes the most affected (city). Mr. prime minister, please ban (foreign) flights immediately,” he added.

The chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, on Monday also asked for the suspension of flights from 12 countries during a meeting of the local cabinet, local broadcaster reported.

On Saturday Modi had ordered a review of the decision to reduce restrictions on international flights due to fears linked to the new variant, and Indian authorities have imposed harder restrictions on travelers arriving from countries deemed “high risk,” including South Africa and the European Union. EFE

India’s economic recovery strengthens in Q2 but Omicron looms [Aljazeera.com, 30 Nov 2021]

India’s economy grew 8.4 percent in the quarter ending September compared with a year earlier.

India’s economy continued to rebound strongly in the quarter ending September, as further rollbacks of COVID-19 restrictions helped boost consumer spending. But the emergence of the Omicron variant could pose a threat to that momentum, some analysts warn.

India’s gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the output of goods and services in the country – grew a brisk 8.4 percent in the quarter ending September compared with a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday.

That marked the strongest recovery rate of the world’s major economies and followed on from the previous quarter when India’s year-over-year growth was a massive 20.1 percent.

Gains in the three months ending in September (the second quarter of India’s fiscal year) were broad based, with most components of GDP contributing to the nation’s growth. Government spending was strong, as was consumer spending, and agriculture. A notable bright spot was the renewed appetite for customer-facing services that were hit hard by COVID restrictions earlier this year.

That broad strength helped shore up analysts’ forecasts for healthy full-year growth, but the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has injected uncertainty into the outlook.

“Reopening gains, pent-up demand, better farm output, higher public spending, and service sector restart have been crucial sources of support in the quarter,” said Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS Bank, Singapore. “We maintain our full-year growth forecast at 9.5 percent, with an eye on the evolving situation with the new (COVID-19) variant.”

One component of GDP which continues to lag is factory activity. Like all economies around the world, India is navigating supply chain snarls, higher energy prices and shortages of raw materials that are holding back manufacturing.

“Global semiconductor shortages have weighed on vehicle production, while coal shortages are likely to have taken a toll on industry this quarter,” said Shilan Shah, senior India economist for Capital Economics.

Shah also sees potential clouds gathering over the recovery from Omicron.

“With vaccination coverage still very low, there remains a risk of renewed virus outbreaks,” he said. “The new Omicron strain of the virus detected in Southern Africa could end up being the factor that crystallises these concerns if it reaches India.”

India Reaches Out To African Nations Affected By Omicron Variant Of Covid-19 [Outlook India, 30 Nov 2021]

By Seema Guha

India has expressed solidarity with the African nations affected by Omicron and said it is ready to step in with aid.

India reached out late Monday to African countries facing the challenge of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the latest in the series which some experts termed as more deadly than all the other varieties. It is suspected to spread with lightning speed and is reported by some to be immune to the various vaccines available till now. But so far there is no definitive proof of any of these claims. But, the news of the Omicron variant, first reported in southern African nations --- Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe -- has spread nervousness across the world, with several countries banning flights from these eight nations.

India, however, has expressed solidarity with the affected African nations and said it was ready to step in with aid. Test kits, life-saving drugs, PPE kits, and medical equipment such as ventilators are on offer. New Delhi is also willing to provide made-in-India vaccines either through the UN’s COVAX system or bilaterally to any of the African nations affected by Omicron. At the same time, the MEA said that Indian institutions could cooperate in "genome surveillance and virus characterisation related research work with their African counterparts."

India has, so far, supplied more than 25 million doses of Made-in-India vaccines to 41 countries in Africa, including nearly 1 million doses as grant to 16 countries and more than 16 million doses through COVAX facility to 33 countries. India has recently started the export of the vaccine which was temporarily stopped when it faced a deadly second wave of the pandemic.

Omicron: New Strain Of Coronavirus Escalates Need For Global Vaccine Sharing
The WHO has said that the Covid-19 was spreading in 14 African countries. Experts say that Africa should now prepare for the third wave of the pandemic. The alarming news is that Africa has so far received just 50 million doses of vaccine of this just 31 million jabs had been administered. The WHO further said that the shipment of vaccines has now come to a near halt to the region. In these circumstances, India’s offer to send supply vaccines to Africa is a welcome move.

India has long maintained excellent relations with several countries in Africa. In fact, in recent years India and China were both vying with each other to enlarge their footprints in the African continent. Though India has been in the picture in Africa since independence and was part of the anti-colonial struggle there, China with its big bucks and chequebook diplomacy was able to overtake India. However while China built roads and ports and highways and extracted minerals of African nations, India concentrated on development aid and building institutions.
While China’s funds were always welcomed many thinking African’s regarded it as exploiters much like European powers in the past centuries. India to these sections is regarded as a much more benign influence that helped to develop Africa’s innate potential. This evening’s announcement is likely to be appreciated by many African nations and expand India’s goodwill across the continent.

As omicron emerges, a tired public has little appetite for new restrictions [The Washington Post, 30 Nov 2021]

By Annie Linskey and Fenit Nirappil

President Biden delivered remarks on the threat posed by the omicron coronavirus variant on Nov. 29, encouraging Americans to get vaccinated. (The Washington Post)

Cold weather is driving more Americans indoors. The holiday season has prompted a wave of travel, generating new lines of coronavirus transmission. And the delta variant has pushed up hospitalizations.

Now, adding to the potentially bad news, an ominous new variant has emerged: omicron.

But after nearly 21 months of coronavirus restrictions, there is little appetite in the country for the kinds of school closures, indoor-gathering bans and restaurant restrictions that defined the early days of the pandemic, according to health officials, who say the political will to push for unpopular — but effective — mitigation measures is waning.

“It is very exhausting,” said Ezekiel Emanuel, a physician and bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania who was on President Biden’s covid advisory team during the transition. “The American public is rightfully exhausted, and therefore the amount of risk we’re willing to take goes up. People are willing to take more risks and accept more challenges, but they’re not willing to accept more restrictions.”

But he suggested that resistance to such limitations, which some European countries have begun to reimpose, carries its own dangers.

“How often do you hear people say, ‘I’m done with covid’? Well, your being done with it does not mean the pandemic is over,” Emanuel said.

The landscape could change as scientists learn more about omicron and how much protection the current vaccines provide against it. But public health officials, from White House staffers to county leaders, have shown little desire to once again impose disruptive measures, instead pushing Americans to voluntarily change their behavior without punitive threats.

Joe Kanter, Louisiana’s top public health official, was among those who, rather than proposing new restrictions, reiterated that Americans should get vaccinated.

“This deserves our attention but not yet panic,” Kanter said in an interview. “The greatest single tool we have is increasing vaccinations both at home and abroad. If people’s families are not yet fully vaccinated but eligible, now is the time to do it.”

And in some places, even if health officials did want to enact restrictions, their power to do so has been stripped as Republican governors, GOP-controlled legislatures and conservative state supreme courts have moved to curtail their powers.

The president gave his first formal update on the new ¬variant Monday morning from the White House, stressing that it was “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”

He urged Americans to get vaccinated and, if eligible, to get a booster shot, saying medical experts believe that the coronavirus vaccines provide “at least some protection against the new variant and that boosters strengthen that protection significantly.”

Biden also encouraged Americans to wear a mask indoors and in crowded places, but said he does not expect the need for lockdowns or additional travel restrictions. “If people are vaccinated and wear their mask, there’s no need for lockdown,” he said.

The president said he would lay out a detailed strategy Thursday for how the United States will fight the virus over the winter. The plan, he said, would focus on increasing testing and vaccination rates.

Over the weekend, Biden restricted travel from southern African nations in an attempt to slow the spread of the new variant to the country, although health officials have said the omicron variant is probably already circulating in the United States.

Biden’s top aides have been clear recently — before omicron was detected, but as covid deaths in the country remained at about 1,000 a day — that stricter measures were not under consideration amid a persistent delta-driven wave. In the last week, covid-related hospitalizations have risen in states such as Ohio and Michigan, even as new cases and deaths dipped in the United States overall.

White House covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients was blunt when asked about lockdowns. “No, we are not headed in that direction,” he said last week.

As of Monday morning, the omicron variant had not been detected in the United States, though it had entered some European countries. While omicron has a high number of mutations that could suggest greater transmissibility, scientists have not yet determined how large a threat it poses.

Unlike the United States, other countries have been swift to impose population-wide restrictions because of the new variant.

Britain, which has a small number of confirmed omicron infections, reimposed its partial mask mandate after relaxing its rules over the summer. It will also require those entering the country to self-isolate pending the result of mandatory PCR coronavirus tests and will require people exposed to omicron to quarantine for 10 days.

“We need to buy time for our scientists to understand exactly what we are dealing with,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday as he announced the new measures. The rules will be revisited in three weeks, he said.

For Biden, who is struggling with low approval ratings, any resurgence of coronavirus worries could further drag down his popularity and undercut a central promise of his presidency to restore the country to normalcy.

In the early summer, before the delta wave took hold, 89 percent of Americans said they thought the coronavirus situation was getting better, according to a Gallup poll. That figure plummeted in July and August.

But in late October, Americans were regaining some optimism about the pandemic, with a Gallup poll finding that 51 percent said the situation was getting better, up from 20 percent in September.

If there is a major resurgence of the pandemic, the political will for the harshest virus mitigation measures has largely evaporated even in the most liberal parts of the country, which have been the most open to restrictions, experts say.

Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said that there’s “little appetite” for widespread closures and that most local health agencies will hold off until getting more data on how omicron is different from delta before announcing any preventive measures.

“The patience of our communities is wearing thin,” Freeman said. “People are tired. People are just exhausted, having to cope with this time after time after time.” Still, she added, “We have to remain strong and diligent and still try to get people the information they need to understand what their risk is.”

Robert Wachter, who chairs the department of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, said that if omicron proves as dangerous as some health officials fear, there will probably be a more regional approach to restrictions, with places like California and East Coast states tightening rules while states in the Midwest and South take a more relaxed approach.

“There is a general zeitgeist in other parts of the country of ‘We’re over it,’ ” Wachter said.
“Politicians are over it. . . . I think it’s going to sort itself by region and probably by political persuasion.”

In deep-blue New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declared a state of emergency over the weekend though mid-January to allow the state to prepare for a coronavirus surge by purchasing additional supplies and letting hospitals postpone nonessential procedures.

But the weariness is evident even in such blue regions. And some Republicans are already suggesting that omicron is a fabrication.

“They are going to try and sell us new ‘Variants’ for the rest of our lives if we don’t tell them to shove it,” tweeted Kari Lake, a GOP candidate for governor in Arizona who is backed by former president Donald Trump.
Ronnie Jackson, the White House physician turned Republican member of Congress from Texas, also hinted at a conspiracy.

“Here comes the MEV — the Midterm Election Variant!” Jackson posted on his Twitter feed. “They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election — but we’re not going to let them!”

Some Republican officials have acted on the anti-lockdown sentiment. New laws in Kansas block state officials from closing businesses, for example. The Montana legislature prevented health officials from quarantining those exposed to the virus. North Dakota has passed a law barring health officials from issuing mask mandates, even in cases like an active tuberculosis outbreak.

And the supreme courts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky curtailed the ability of those states’ Democratic governors to implement emergency measures such as statewide mask mandates.

Freeman said potential spikes caused by delta or omicron will test the effect of the new laws.
“We are going to need to watch very closely and track whether legislation that has attempted to limit public health authority has in fact essentially tied the hands of public health officials from preventing the spread of disease when there’s a change in disease, like a variant,” Freeman said.

Over the weekend, state and local officials largely used the interest in the omicron variant to reiterate current restrictions rather than publicly discuss new ones.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) urged vigilance against the variant and said its emergence accentuated the urgency of getting vaccinated and wearing masks indoors. Connecticut does not have a mask mandate, but some cities, including New Haven, still do.

“This news of the Omicron variant reminds us about the importance of being vaccinated and getting a booster,” Lamont tweeted Sunday. “We have now entered the winter holiday season and still need to mask while in indoor public places, practice proper hand hygiene, get tested, and stay home if you feel sick.”

Kanter, Louisiana’s top public health official, said the state’s immediate priorities for responding to omicron are shoring up its genetic surveillance systems to detect the variant early and ensuring labs that can detect the omicron variant while conducting routine coronavirus tests are prepared to do so.

He said measures such as restoring an indoor mask mandate, imposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) in response to the summer delta surge, are premature while scientists and health officials await additional information about the variant.

Omicron: entry bans spread as China pledges 1bn jabs for Africa [The Guardian, 30 Nov 2021]

By Martin Farrer and Samantha Lock

Hong Kong and Ecuador join ranks of countries imposing new restrictions, cases rise in Australia and Canada, but stock markets bounce back

More countries have imposed travel restrictions on visitors from other parts of the world in order to try to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, as China pledged to send 600m vaccine doses to Africa.

As cases of Omicron continued to grow around the world from Japan to Reunion Island, Hong Kong widened its ban on non-residents entering the city on Tuesday to include visitors who have been to Australia, Canada, Israel or six European countries in the past 21 days. Non-resident arrivals from four southern African nations have already been barred.

Ecuador joined the move to tighten border by imposing entry restrictions on travellers flying from or via a number of African countries. It would also request vaccine certificates from those arriving from other countries due to the new Omicron strain of coronavirus, president Guillermo Lasso said late on Monday.

With the announcement Ecuador joins other countries across the globe in restricting travel in response to the Omicron strain, which carries a very high risk of increased infection, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The head of WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the emergence of the new strain in South Africa last week showed how “hard-won gains could vanish in an instant”. He told a special session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva that “Covid-19 is not done with us”.

Media in Japan reported that the first case of Omicron was recorded on Tuesday, while a person has tested positive for Omicron on the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion, it was reported on Tuesday, citing an official researcher on the island. The 35-year-old person had recently travelled to Mozambique.

Amid concern about the gulf between vaccine rates in developed countries and less wealthy ones, China has pledged to donate 600m doses of its Covid-19 vaccines to Africa.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, made the promise in a video speech to the opening ceremony of a China-Africa forum on economic cooperation in Senegal on Monday. He said China would supply 1bn doses in all. The other 400m are to come through other routes such as production by Chinese companies in Africa.

“We need to put people and their lives first, be guided by science, support waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines, and truly ensure the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in Africa to bridge the immunisation gap,” Xi said.

Stock markets in Asia made a good recovery on Tuesday after steep falls in values in recent days brought on by concerns about Omicron. The Nikkei in Tokyo led the way by lifting 0.5% while the ASX200 was up more than 1% in Sydney.

“We’ll get a new variant, we’ll get new waves, but the market – and we all as investors – will see how that might play out,” Jason Brady, president at Thornburg Investment Management in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg.

In the United States, president Joe Biden said Omicron was a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic”, as the US implemented restrictions on travel from South Africa and several other countries.

Biden urged all Americans to get vaccinated, including booster shots, saying it was the best protection against the new variant. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weighed in by saying on Monday that everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot.

Canada saw another two cases on Monday, taking its total to five, and the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, also appealed to the public to make sure they were vaccinated.

“Let’s be clear: getting vaccinated is the best thing you can do right now,” Trudeau said in a tweet on Monday night local time.

“So, if you don’t have your shots yet, get them. And now that we have enough vaccine doses for every kid between the ages of 5 and 11 to get their first shot, make sure you get your kids vaccinated, too.”

The UK government is planning to reboot its vaccination programme back to levels seen earlier in the pandemic when around 500,000 jabs a day were being administered. In addition, ministers cut the waiting time for boosters to three months in a bid to outpace the Omicron variant that scientists believe is already spreading in the community.

There were 11 confirmed cases of Omicron in England and Scotland on Monday, with hundreds more expected in the coming days. From Tuesday, masks will be mandatory on public transport including airports and stations, and in shops.

Two arrivals into Australia have tested positive to Omicron, becoming the first cases in the country. The pair are in quarantine in Sydney after arriving from Johannesburg via Qatar on Saturday.

Authorities in Singapore said on Tuesday that two travellers who tested positive for Omicron in Sydney transited through Changi airport. And a fifth person is self-isolating with the Omicron strain after returning to Australia from southern Africa before the variant emerged last week.

World faces an anxious wait as Covid vaccine makers prepare for omicron variant [CNBC, 30 Nov 2021]

By Holly Ellyatt

LONDON — As the new omicron Covid variant spreads around the world, hopes are being pinned on vaccine makers' ability to develop effective shots against the strain.

Global market sentiment nosedived on Tuesday morning amid fears that the Covid-19 vaccine currently in use could be less effective against the new omicron variant. The strain was first identified in South Africa and designated a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization on Friday.

The sharp reversal for European and U.S. stock futures came after Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times that he expects existing vaccines to be less effective against the new variant.

Bancel told CNBC on Monday that it could take months to develop and ship a vaccine that specifically targets the omicron variant. He added that will take at least two weeks to determine how much the mutations have impacted the efficacy of the vaccines currently on the market.

The omicron variant has more than 30 mutations on the spike protein that binds to human cells. Some of the mutations are associated with higher transmission and a decrease in antibody protection, according to the WHO.

The UN health agency reiterated on Monday that there are still considerable uncertainties and unknowns regarding this variant, however.

First of all, experts don't yet know just how transmissible the variant is and whether any increase in infections is because it can escape prior immunity or because it is more transmissible. Secondly, there is uncertainty over how well vaccines protect against infection, transmission, severity of illness and death when it comes to the omicron. And thirdly, it is unknown whether the variant causes more severe symptoms.

The WHO has said it will take weeks to understand how the variant may affect diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

Tweaks
The world now faces an anxious waiting game as experts strive to discover what challenges and risks the omicron variant poses.

Any new variant is closely examined to see whether current vaccines are effective against it — if not, vaccines will need to be tweaked to target the new strain. The Covid vaccine makers are confident they can do this, but it will take time to develop, test, manufacture and deploy these new shots to hundreds millions of people.

Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla said the impact of omicron on its own two-dose vaccine — which was developed with German biotech BioNTech and has been widely deployed in the U.S. and Europe — remains to be seen.

"I don't think that the result will be the vaccines don't protect," Bourla told CNBC on Monday, adding, "I think the result could be, which we don't know yet, the vaccines protect less."

A booster dose of an authorized vaccine is currently the only way to bolster waning immunity against Covid-19, but vaccine producers are also looking at developing shots specifically targeting the omicron variant.

Bourla said Pfizer had already begun work on a new vaccine if necessary. The company made its first DNA template on Friday, he said — the initial step in the development process of a new vaccine.

Pfizer and BioNTech also said last week that they are investigating omicron, first labeled B.1.1.529, and can adapt their vaccine quickly if needed.

"We have made multiple times clear that we would be able to have the vaccine in less than 100 days," Bourla said. He noted that the company was able to create vaccines for the beta and delta variants quickly, though they ultimately weren't used because the original shots remained effective.

Moderna said last week that it was testing three existing Covid booster candidates against the omicron variant and would also create a new omicron-specific vaccine candidate.

Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's shots are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines which teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response in our bodies. This response then produces antibodies that help to protect people against Covid infection.

Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have also produced widely available and effective Covid-19 vaccines (although the AstraZeneca shot is not yet authorized in the U.S.), but their shots are known as "viral vector" vaccines.

This type uses a modified version of a virus (a vector) to deliver genetic instructions to the body's cells. The cells then produce harmless pieces of the virus called antigens which trigger an immune response in the body. If you are exposed to the real virus later, your immune system will recognize it and know how to fight it.

Both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have said they are investigating and testing the new variant.

Rafael Bayarri Olmos, a researcher at the Copenhagen University Hospital, told CNBC on Tuesday that variants are "taking a toll" on how well Covid vaccines can prevent infection.

"Now we have omicron that has 32 mutations in the spike protein, some of them have been seen before and they are concerning — they can make the virus more transmissible, they can make them better at avoiding immune recognition, or avoiding your defenses — so we do expect that the vaccines won't be so, so effective but that doesn't mean they are not going to work," he added.

"They are one of our best tools now to curb the spread of this virus."

Omicron risks
Omicron has now been found in more than a dozen countries, causing many to impose travel restrictions and implement tighter Covid measures, such as compulsory mask-wearing and advising people to work from home.

It comes as many countries are already dealing with high daily infections due to the delta variant, which is globally dominant.

Covid symptoms linked to the omicron variant have been described as "extremely mild" by the South African doctor who first spotted the new strain. Nonetheless, the World Health Organization warned Monday that the omicron variant is likely to spread further and poses a "very high" global risk.

Francois Balloux, director of UCL Genetics Institute at University College London, stressed that very little is known about how contagious and deadly the variant is, compared to the delta variant.

"What we can anticipate, what we're quite confident about, is that this variant is more likely to infect and reinfect people who have been vaccinated or have immunity from prior infection," he told CNBC's Squawk Box Europe on Tuesday.

"But in terms of intrinsic transmissibility, irrespective of the immune system, and its virulence we know, I would say, almost nothing at this stage … We Just have to wait before we can say."
There is quiet optimism that omicron could be a more infectious, but less virulent, version of the virus, meaning it could turn into an infection more akin to the common cold.

Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett told the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday that "there is a possibility that we are seeing a more infectious and less virulent version of the virus, which would be one of those steps along a happier route to living with the virus," she said. "We've got as many signals that it might [be] OK as we've got signals that it might be a bit of a worry."

Many countries are not taking any chances and have announced a ramping-up of Covid vaccinations, booster shots and more restrictive measures.

On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden ruled out another lockdown and travel curbs for now, although it and a raft of countries have temporarily suspended travel from a number of southern African countries.

Pfizer research head sees a sprint to develop Omicron vaccine, if needed [STAT, 30 Nov 2021]

By Matthew Herper

Atop Pfizer executive says the company is hopeful that booster shots will provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant — but has already envisioned a timeline for the development of a new vaccine if that’s not the case.

Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, likened the company’s researchers to firefighters: They don’t know how serious the blaze will be, but need to prepare for the worst. And in this case, the worst would mean the need to develop new vaccines.

“We do take the new variant of concern, Omicron, with seriousness,” Dolsten told STAT. “It can indeed be a potential new threatening wave … although we don’t know that yet. But we always start with being prepared for the worst.”

Like their rival Moderna, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech say a variant-focused vaccine could be ready in less than 100 days. Dolsten said Pfizer and BioNTech have already started to make a DNA template of a new vaccine construct, the next step in the development of a new vaccine after making the mRNA and the lipid envelope it will go into.

It’s not clear whether a new clinical trial would be needed for regulatory approval, based on Pfizer’s previous conversations with the FDA, Dolsten said. It’s possible that a booster focused on the Omicron strain could be authorized, based on studies that have already been done with vaccines based around the Beta and Delta variants.

If one is required, though, Pfizer would have enough experimental vaccine to begin a clinical trial within about two months, Dolsten said. Such a study would be small, and would look at the safety of the vaccine and the immune response to it. It is possible to see how much a vaccine increases antibody levels within seven days after the second dose, so he believes a study could be completed within a month.

In about three months — by early March — Dolsten said Pfizer and BioNTech would be able to produce doses at “very high commercial scale.” That would mean being able to produce a billion doses of vaccine a quarter, or about 330 million doses a month. Dolsten imagines that if a new Omicron-specific vaccine is needed, it would replace the current vaccine, because so far new strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that have become problematic have out-competed existing strains. At the same time, Dolsten said, it would be possible to have two different versions of the vaccine: one for the older strains and one for Omicron.

He emphasized, however, that a great many questions about Omicron still loom.

“We don’t know whether it will really outcompete Delta in a more diverse population, and we don’t know yet whether our vaccine does cover it sufficiently,” Dolsten said. He said that he is “cautiously optimistic” that, especially for those who have received a third dose of the vaccine, also known as a booster, the existing vaccine will prove protective against Omicron.

Dolsten’s argument is that booster shots lead to greater levels of antibodies that neutralize the virus, and also more diverse types of antibodies that give broader protection against new variants. While some experts have been skeptical of the push to give boosters in developed countries like the U.S., Dolsten insisted that the boosters are important.

“There is no vaccine constraint in volume,” he said. “We should boost and we should vaccinate as many unvaccinated that are willing to get vaccinated.”

Dolsten said that it will become clear whether a new Omicron variant-focused vaccine is needed later this month, as Pfizer and BioNTech test whether the neutralizing antibodies made by the existing vaccine have an impact on boosters and look at data for how Omicron is spreading in the real world. That will tell researchers, for instance, whether cases are occurring in those who are unvaccinated, those whose vaccine protection is waning, or, in a worst-case scenario, in people who were recently vaccinated.

Dolsten said he hoped Pfizer’s new anti-Covid pill, which must be combined with another drug, ritonavir, could be used to help slow outbreaks, because treating people should make them less likely to transmit. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the pill for an emergency use authorization. Dolsten said that Pfizer could make 200,000 doses available this year, and will be able to make 80 million treatment courses next year, including 20 million in the first half of next year.

Whether or not a new vaccine is needed now, Dolsten said, it appears that new variants of concern are cropping up every few months. He suggested that it may only be a matter of time before a new shot is needed.

Omicron could be the most infectious COVID-19 variant yet : Goats and Soda [NPR, 30 Nov 2021]

By MICHAELEEN DOUCLEFF

A few weeks ago, South Africa was in an enviable state. After several massive COVID-19 surges, including one fueled by the highly contagious delta variant, the country's daily cases had plummeted and were in a lull.

Then, a sudden burst of cases showed up, among university students around the city of Pretoria. Scientists thought that the delta variant was probably causing the spike. But to be sure, they decided to sequence the genome of a virus from one of the cases.

It wasn't delta at all.

"All of a sudden, there's this creature with all these mutations — and, I mean a lot of mutations," says Dr. Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Last week, scientists in South Africa and Botswana detected a new strain of the coronavirus, one with about 50 mutations across its genome. By contrast, other variants, such as delta, have less than 20 mutations.

Known as omicron, the new variant has put the globe on alert. Since Nov. 24, when it was first reported to the World Health Organization, health officials have now detected omicron in more than a dozen countries across at least five continents. The variant poses a "very high" risk, the WHO said on Monday.

So far, scientists have limited information about omicron. But several red flags suggest that this strain of coronavirus could quickly cause surges in many parts of the world and could be the most contagious one known.

Omicron appears to 'outcompete' delta
Over the past two weeks, omicron has spread to at least seven of South Africa's nine provinces, quickly overtaking the country's outbreak — and thus, it appears, outcompeting delta, says virologist Pei-Yong Shi of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
"Based on the epidemiology data, it seems like the new variant has advantages in transmitting over the previous variants," Shi says.

So far, delta is the most contagious variant known. Within about nine months, it swept through all the continents except Antarctica, pushing out other variants and causing huge surges in cases.

If omicron is more transmissible, that would be quite remarkable, says the University of Massachusetts' Luban.

"Everyone is afraid that omicron will be significantly more transmissible than delta. Upon first impression, it looks like it could be," he says. "But that could be totally wrong. Right now, nobody knows. The problem is that our data is very limited."

At the moment, the only data scientists have to estimate omicron's transmissibility comes largely from the cluster of cases at a university in Pretoria. The rapid rise in cases there could be due, in part, to a superspreading event.

However, some specific mutations in omicron do suggest it will be quite transmissible, Luban says.

Omicron's mutations may help it evade the immune system
On top of that, the WHO says there's preliminary evidence that omicron increases the risk of reinfections. So people who already had COVID could be more vulnerable to a second infection.

Omicron carries many mutations that likely help the variant evade the immune system, says virologist Paul Bieniasz at Rockefeller University in New York. Some of these mutations exist in other variants, but not all together in a single one. So Bieniasz and his colleagues have already conducted lab research on key mutations that show up in omicron and found that they can help prevent antibodies from killing the virus.

"Based on that, we expect that omicron will be significantly resistant to antibodies that are circulating in individuals who are convalescent or who have had mRNA vaccines," Bieniasz says, referring to the technology used by the Pfizer and Modern COVID-19 vaccines.

As a result, the vaccines will likely be less effective against this variant, he predicts. But his research so far also suggests that people can boost their protection — against any variant — by having three exposures to the virus. So that means either three doses of the vaccine or two doses after a natural infection.

That seems to broaden your defenses, says Shi, the virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. "After the third dose of the vaccine, our antibody profile inside our body becomes more capable of blocking the variants," he says. "Our bodies create different antibodies that are much more able to push back on the variants."

Travel restrictions by country following the Omicron variant outbreak [CNN, 30 Nov 2021]

By Lilit Marcus and Barry Neild,

(CNN) — Just as many countries around the world were beginning to loosen their border restrictions, reports of a newly detected coronavirus variant in South Africa sent many of those doors slamming shut again.

The new B.1.1.529 variant was named Omicron by the World Health Organization on November 26.

Different countries and territories have taken different approaches toward preventing the spread of this new variant.

The most up-to-date information is below, but please be aware that governments can change their regulations on a moment's notice. Check back for further updates.

Angola
Angola announced on Saturday that it will close its borders with seven countries in southern Africa in an effort to prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant, according to state media.
Angola's border will be closed to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe will be closed until January 5, 2022.

Argentina
Passengers entering Argentina who have been anywhere on the African continent within the last 14 days before their arrival to the country must undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon landing.

They must also show proof of being fully vaccinated and a negative PCR test done within 72 hours before departure. Upon arrival in Argentina, they must take an antigen test. Travelers who are not citizens or residents of Argentina will be required to prove they have health insurance that will cover Covid-19.

Australia
Australian officials have suspended all inbound and outbound flights to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and Zimbabwe for at least 14 days and has banned foreigners with a travel history to these locations within the previous two weeks from entering.

Quarantine rules are still in places for the few people allowed to enter the country. Australian citizens and fully vaccinated visa holders may enter, but foreigners must quarantine in a hotel for up to 14 days. Some locals are allowed to quarantine at home, but each state has its own guidelines.

Meanwhile, the state of Tasmania is barring people who have been in any overseas location -- except for New Zealand's South Island -- from entering.

Brazil
Brazil's Presidential Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira has said his country's air borders with South Africa, Botswana, Swatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe are now closed.

The measure, announced Friday, came despite President Jair Bolsonaro previously stating he would not support such border closures.

Canada
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has announced that any non-Canadian who has been in South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and/or Eswatini from November 12 onward will be barred from entering the country. Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have been to one of those countries will still be allowed to come home, but with strict rules: they must have a negative PCR test to board their flight to Canada, must take another virus test upon arrival, quarantine at a hotel until they have a confirmed negative test result, and then quarantine at their residence for another 14 days.

China
One country not making major changes amid the Omicron news is China, likely due to the fact that its travel restrictions are already extremely tight with few if any foreigners able to enter the country. Zhong Nanshan, a top respiratory disease expert and government adviser, said China has no plans to take any "major action" in response to the Omicron variant.

Hong Kong, meanwhile, strengthened its already tight restrictions, banning any foreigners who have visited South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe in the past 21 days. Any Hong Kong residents arriving from the southern African countries will have to spend seven days in a government quarantine facility where they will undergo daily virus testing and be monitored by health professionals. After the seven days, they'll be required to continue quarantine for 14 days at a designated hotel.

Denmark
Denmark has advised its citizens against all travel to Angola, Malawi, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, and introduced a mandatory 10-quarantine and testing regime for anyone who has visited them in the past 10 days.

All travelers who have stayed in any of the seven nations within 10 days before entry to Denmark must be tested and go into isolation for 10 days after entry, according to the Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry. Isolation can be broken on the 6th day after two negative PCR tests (on day 4 and 6).

Foreigners without a permanent residence in Denmark must have a worthy purpose to travel to Denmark and can only enter if they can present a negative PCR-test taken a maximum of 72 hours before the time of entry, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Egypt
Egypt says it has stopped direct flights from a number of southern African countries, including: South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini.

Fiji
Fiji is tightening its border regulations. The southern African countries were already on its "red list," but now only Fijian citizens can enter the country if they have been to one of the red-listed nations. In addition, they will now have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, with PCR tests carried out on days 5 and 12.

Riaz Hassan, a spokesperson for Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services, told CNN the new restrictions will not affect the country's plans to reopen to tourists December 1.

France
France has suspended all flights from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini.

Germany
Germany has banned all flights from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Greece
Greece will allow only essential travel from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Eswatini, Zambia and Malawi, the country's health ministry said Friday in a statement.

Travelers will have to have a special permit from the local Greek embassies and diplomatic missions to travel, the ministry said, adding that on arrival they will be tested and put in quarantine hotels for 10 days after which they'll be tested again.

India
Beginning December 1, all international passengers must submit a self-declaration form to an online government portal that includes a 14-day travel history and a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to their departure, according to guidelines issued by India's Health Ministry.

Travelers from countries deemed "at risk" will also now face further testing and surveillance, including a PCR test on arrival. They will also have to quarantine at home for seven days.
As of November 26, "at-risk" countries include South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, as well as "countries in Europe including the United Kingdom," Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel.

Indonesia
Indonesia says it is banning the arrival of any foreigners who have spent time in the last 14 days in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini and Nigeria. Any Indonesian nationals who have traveled to those countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.

Ireland
Ireland says it is imposing mandatory quarantine for anyone arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Irish residents arriving from affected countries will be allowed to isolate at home.

Israel
Israel has the distinction of being the first country to close its borders following news of the Omicron variant less than three months after the Middle Eastern country began allowing tourists back in. Israeli citizens can come back to the country but will have to quarantine, even if fully vaccinated.

Italy
Italy has restricted the arrival of anyone who has been in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini during the last 14 days.

Japan
As of November 30, Japan's borders are closed to any non-citizens, including international students, short-term residents (those already in the country can stay), or people visiting family.

Kuwait
Kuwait on Saturday halted direct commercial flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zambia and Malawi, and advised against all travel, particularly to southern Africa. Kuwaiti nationals arriving from affected countries must spend seven days in quarantine, while non-Kuwaitis would not be permitted to enter within 14 days of visiting the listed countries.

Related content
Travel doors slam shut as new Covid variant triggers alarm, stranding hundreds of passengers
Maldives

Tourists who have traveled to or transited for more than 12 hours through South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Eswatini within the past 14 days will be denied entry into the country as of Sunday, the Health Ministry said.

Nationals of the Maldives and long-term visa holders arriving from these countries will still be allowed to enter, but will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine with virus testing.

Malta
Malta has banned travel to and from South Africa, Nambia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe.

Morocco
The Kingdom of Morocco has suspended all incoming international flights for a two-week period beginning midnight November 29.

Netherlands
The Netherlands has imposed a flight ban on the southern African region following reports of the new variant. Anyone entering the Netherlands who has been to one of those countries is required to quarantine at a government-selected hotel. Two people have already been arrested for violating this policy.

New Zealand
Only New Zealand citizens are allowed to travel from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique as of 11:59 p.m. local time on November 28.

Travelers from these countries are required to stay in managed isolation quarantine for 14 days and undergo testing, New Zealand's Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement.

Oman
Oman has suspended incoming flights from the following countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique, according to local media.

Anyone who has visited the seven countries within the past 14 days will also be banned from entry.
Pakistan
Pakistan announced on Saturday that it would be closing its borders to arrivals from South Africa, Hong Kong, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana. Pakistani citizens returning from affected countries will be permitted entry if they're vaccinated and produce negative results taken from before and after travel.

Philippines
The Philippines has suspended inbound flights from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique until December 15.

Russia
Beginning November 28, non-Russians who have traveled in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are not allowed to enter the country. Russian nationals who have been to one of those countries -- or in Hong Kong, mainland China, Israel or the United Kingdom -- are permitted to enter but are required to take a PCR test upon arrival and self-isolate until they have a confirmed negative result.

Rwanda
Rwanda on Sunday announced a temporary suspension of direct flights to and from southern Africa. Anyone arriving from affected countries will be required to quarantine for seven days.

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has suspended air connections with South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini. Anyone who has spent any of the past 14 days in affected countries will be barred from entry. Saudi citizens who have visited the region must quarantine for five days on arrival.

Singapore
Arrivals from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe are greatly restricted as of November 28.

Anyone who is not a Singaporean passport or residency holder who has visited at least one of those countries will not be permitted to enter Singapore or transit through the airport there. Singaporean citizens and residents who have visited one of the countries can still return home but are subject to a 10-day quarantine.

Spain
Passengers arriving to Spain from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe will have to quarantine for 10 days, with the possibility to leave isolation after a virus test on day seven. The new rules will be in place for 14 days, and could be extended further.

Passengers who are residents in the EU, Schengen space, Andorra, Monaco, Vaticano and el Marino, and who are transiting through to Spain to reach these countries, are exempt from the new rules, as well as airline crew members.

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has banned the arrival of any foreigners who has been in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Eswatini in the past 14 days. Sri Lankan citizens arriving from the listed countries must spend 14 days in quarantine at home.

Thailand
Thai authorities have confirmed that they will ban travel from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe starting from December.

Turkey
Turkey on Friday issued a ban on arrivals from Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

UAE
Dubai is restricting travelers originating from or transiting from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, according to Emirates airline.

Outbound passenger flights from Dubai to the countries listed however are permitted, the statement said.

United Kingdom
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said from Friday six countries would be added to the "red" list: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia. UK or Irish citizens or permanent residents returning from a red-listed country must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days, regardless of vaccination status. Citizens of other countries who have visited a red-list destination will not be able to enter at all.

Further restrictions on all arrivals were announced over the weekend. Anyone entering the UK must now quarantine until they receive the results of a PCR test taken on their second day in the country. Anyone testing positive faces a 10-day quarantine.

United States
President Joe Biden said "I've decided we're going to be cautious," before announcing restrictions against non-citizens entering the United States from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

As Omicron variant cases spread, countries rush to impose travel bans: Live updates [CNN, 30 Nov 2021]

By Stephanie Nebehay and Alexander Winning

Omicron news coverage is in overdrive, but there's still so much we don't know
The blessing of Thanksgiving on Thursday was followed by a curse on Friday: Urgent news about the new Covid variant named Omicron.

The reality is that "we know almost nothing about the Omicron variant," as this headline on The Atlantic's website helpfully states. But the abrupt reactions to the news -- stock selloffs, travel restrictions, endless Twitter threads -- made Omicron the top story of the weekend across all sorts of news websites and networks.

Now the world is in a sort of information holding pattern. Sociologist Zeynep Tufekci put it this way: "South Africa has gifted us an early warning with Omicron. But earlier the warning, the less we know."

"Wait two weeks" seems to be the consensus at the moment. Dr. Paul Burton, the chief medical officer for Moderna, told CNN on Sunday, "We have to go through a couple of weeks here of uncertainty." The White House's readout of President Biden's meeting with Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of his Covid Response Team made the same point.

"Dr. Fauci informed the President that while it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of Covid."

Hong Kong tightens border restrictions for eight African countries due to new Omicron variant From Lizzy Yee in Hong Kong

Hong Kong became the latest destination to tighten border restrictions on people arriving from eight southern African countries in response to the new Omicron variant, the government announced on Saturday.

Hong Kong residents arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe will have to spend seven days in a government quarantine facility where they will undergo daily Covid-19 testing and be monitored by health professionals.

Upon completion of the seven days, residents will be allowed to finish the rest of their compulsory quarantine at a designated quarantine hotel.

They are also required to undergo regular Covid-19 testing after arrival in Hong Kong.

Non-Hong Kong residents who have visited any of the eight southern African countries within 21 days are no longer allowed to enter Hong Kong as of Saturday. Non-residents traveling from South Africa were already barred entry due to its status as a high-risk country.

"The new rule aims to enhance the surveillance on the Omicron variant of Covid-19," the government said in a press release. "Hong Kong must stay vigilant and implement the most stringent anti-epidemic measures to prevent the mutant strain from entering the local community."

Dutch police arrest couple who fled from Covid hotel after traveling to South Africa
Dutch police said on Sunday they arrested a couple on a plane after they "fled" from a hotel where passengers from South Africa who have tested positive for Covid-19 are being quarantined.

Dutch military police at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport "arrested a couple this evening who had fled from a quarantine hotel," police spokesman Stan Verberkt told CNN.

The couple -- a Spanish citizen and a Portuguese national -- were arrested on a plane that was about to take off en route to Spain at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET), Verberkt said.

They are not in custody but are being quarantined at another facility, Verberkt said, adding the prosecutor will decide in the next few days if they will be charged.

Public health authority (GGD) spokesperson Stefanie van Waardenburg said the couple was among the passengers on a flight that landed at Schiphol from Johannesburg on Friday.

Some of the passengers on that flight tested positive for the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, Waardenburg said. The arrested couple did not test positive for the Omicron variant.

The Netherlands is among a growing number of countries that have imposed a flight ban on the southern African region.

Woman charged with arson after quarantine hotel fire
A31-year-old woman has been charged with arson after allegedly lighting fire beneath a bed at a quarantine hotel in Cairns, in the Australian state of Queensland.

The woman had been at the Pacific Hotel for a couple of days, Queensland Police said, before she allegedly set fire to the room where was staying with two children early Sunday morning.

More than 160 guests were evacuated from the building as flames took hold of the upper floors. No one was injured, but police said the hotel suffered “significant damage.”

As of Sunday, none of the guests had tested positive for Covid-19, according to state health officials.

In Queensland, new arrivals from designated Covid-19 hotspots are required to spend 14 days in quarantine. Some are allowed to quarantine at home, if they meet strict requirements, including having a place to stay that doesn’t have shared access.

The southern German state has also imposed a lockdown on all districts