New Coronavirus News from 29 Nov 2021

New Covid variant, Omicron, poses a near-term risk to Asian countries including India: Morgan Stanley [Economic Times, 29 Nov 2021]

By Sachin Dave

The new Covid variant, Omicron, could prove to be a major risk to the Indian economy in the near term, a Morgan Stanley research report said Monday.

The report-- Asia Economics: Assessing the risks from the new Covid variant—said that countries such as India would soon look at lockdowns if the impact of the new variant intensifies.

Countries including India tend to tighten restrictions when cases rise sharply. “So, if this variant proves to be as challenging as the Delta variant, or more, we see a high risk of selective lockdowns. That would have a bigger growth impact relative to group 2, though this may emerge later on,” the research report said.

The report went on to add that the impact of the new Covid variant is also set to impact several other Asian economies in the coming months. Although due to the high number of people now vaccinated in India and throughout Asia, the impact could be less severe.

“The emergence of a new Covid variant poses a near-term risk to our constructive outlook on Asia. However, with a much higher share of the vaccinated population, the downside risk to growth could be less than what transpired in mid-2021, provided that the variant is not more challenging than Delta,” the Morgan Stanley report said.

Although, the new variant could disrupt the global supply lines, the report warned.

“Supply chain disruption risks higher in India and ASEAN than in North Asia: Demand will be affected across the region in the event of a tightening of restrictions. However, from a supply perspective, the disruption risks are higher in the economies of India and ASEAN. During the Delta wave, for instance, production activities in India and ASEAN were affected more than in North Asia. We could see a repeat,” the research report said.

Air travel in India is on the cusp of normalcy; will Omicron change that? [Moneycontrol.com, 29 Nov 2021]

by AMEYA JOSHI

While November will see a new peak in passenger numbers and flights deployed within India, new Covid variant Omicron may throw up some challenges and hinder plans to recommence international flights from December

It has been 18 months since the restart of scheduled civil aviation in India following a two-month hiatus in 2020. International flights, however, are still operating selectively. With Omicron, the new variant of COVID-19 being classified as a variant of concern, the plan of opening up on December 15 may or may not go as planned. The domestic market, meanwhile, is surely recovering — on many days in November, passenger numbers touched 90 percent of their pre-Covid levels while the average has been 81 percent.

But with this growth, traffic patterns are changing and this is an indication of a return to normalcy. After being below 50 percent of pre-Covid levels and now coming close to recovery, metro cities are catching up.

What do the numbers say?
Delhi, the largest airport in the country, saw 72 percent of its pre-Covid domestic traffic. Ironic as this may seem, the airport has been bursting at the seams with regular complaints on social media about delays at security and other bottlenecks.

Mumbai and Bengaluru each saw 64 percent recovery. Kolkata and Hyderabad saw better recovery rates of 70 percent and 72 percent, respectively. The airport that continues to be the worst hit among the metros even now is Chennai, where the recovery is only 52 percent.

In Tier-I cities, Goa stood its ground as the party capital of the country with traffic returning to 82 percent of pre-Covid levels. Indeed, the airport saw higher traffic in November due to the holiday season.

Among major airports, only Srinagar and Chandigarh have recovered completely, with traffic being more than what it was pre-Covid.

Weren’t the numbers different earlier?
For many months since the re-start of civil aviation, the numbers were heavily tilted in favour of Tier II and Tier III cities. This was primarily because airlines had incentives to fly on the RCS-UDAN routes, where they had subsidy backing from the government. In addition, passengers were flying to their hometowns and away from the metros, which were seeing a high COVID-19 caseload. Another factor was that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) based in smaller cities had restarted travel before large corporations.

This phase saw airports such as Patna, which had seen migration from cities, move up many notches in leading the airports table. A mix of lack of railways, elections in the state and migrant labour taking to air had led to this increase, making Patna the star airport in the country.

Likewise, airports such as Belagavi and Hubballi (formerly Belgaum and Hubli), on a lower base, were doing better than ever. As things stand today, Belagavi and Hubballi saw 72 percent and 49 percent of their pre-Covid traffic in October.

Capacity addition
The Indian market is unique. Even in this melee, the growth rate could still be linked to capacity deployment.

Rajkot, for example, has seen an increase of 80 percent over pre-Covid traffic. The airport had seen a slew of flights being added by IndiGo.

The story is similar for places such as Agra, Prayagraj, Tezpur, Pasighat, Leh and Shillong, where traffic has doubled.

What next?
Indian air traffic has been very elastic. People took to the air the moment the effects of the second COVID-19 wave started waning. Call it revenge tourism or anything else, people movement has been on the rise.

Last year, as the first wave plateaued, passengers rushed to Goa to celebrate the New Year.

Likewise, with the opening up of the Maldives, flights from every airport in the country to the island nation were packed.

The looming threat of the new variant notwithstanding, the opening up of international travel is likely to see traffic at major airports go up further. There is a distinct travel profile at airports across the country.

For instance, Bengaluru airport will pick up steam only when the IT companies get back to work from the office. The service industry has been the slowest of the lot, and for the right reasons. Until then, a mix of leisure and business will dominate travel in India.

While a new peak will be achieved in November in terms of passenger numbers and flights deployed, the recovery in December will hinge on how the new coronavirus variant Omicron behaves.

'Omicron' cryptocurrency soars on new variant [CNN, 29 Nov 2021]

LondonAs global markets fell last week on news of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, one cryptocurrency with the same name soared after the Greek letter entered the investor lexicon.

The price of the hitherto-obscure digital token, whose Twitter (TWTR) feed has little more than 1,000 followers, rose almost ten-fold from Friday to Monday morning when it hit $688, before tumbling as much as 75%, crypto tracker CoinGecko said.

Omicron the token, which its website describes as "a decentralized treasury-backed currency protocol," was trading at about $371 at 9:35am ET. On Thursday it was worth about $65.

The World Health Organization, which on Friday named the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, said as more countries reported cases there is a "very high" global risk of surges, although scientists have said it could take weeks to understand its severity.

Bitcoin (ARSC) suffered its worst day in two months on Friday, dropping by more than 8% as investors dumped stocks and other riskier assets in favor of perceived safe havens like the dollar. It has since recovered nearly all of its losses, with global markets gaining a semblance of calm on Monday.

From "squid game" to dogecoin, minor cryptocurrencies have this year benefited from links to memes or internet culture, recording rapid booms and busts while more mainstream names such as bitcoin soar in popularity.

It's not clear when the Omicron token was launched. Data on its price at CoinGecko was only available from Nov. 8, while a Telegram channel under the name OmicDAO was launched a day earlier.

Reuters was not able to reach anyone representing Omicron for comment.

Omicron variant puts world in a 'race against time', says EU Commission President [CNN, 29 Nov 2021]

By Martin Goillandeau and Ivana Kottasová,

(CNN)The world is in a "race against time" with the Omicron coronavirus variant, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, warning during a visit to Latvia that scientists and manufacturers will need weeks to fully understand the new variant.

As more cases are identified and governments around the world mobilize to respond to Omicron, an urgent meeting of G7 health ministers will be convened on Monday, the United Kingdom said. It also announced on Sunday new domestic public health rules requiring face coverings in shops and on public transport starting this week.

Omicron was first identified by scientists in South Africa, who raised alarm over its unusually high number of mutations on Thursday. Since then, at least a dozen other countries have confirmed cases of the new strain, with several other reporting suspected cases.

Apart from South Africa, the variant has been found in Botswana, Belgium, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong.

On Sunday, Dutch authorities announced that at least 13 people had tested positive at Amsterdam Schipol airport after traveling from South Africa. The Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said in a statement that the variant had been detected through the sequencing of 61 positive Covid-19 samples that were obtained at the airport on Friday. It is "possible that the new variant will be found in more test samples," the institution noted.

Biostatistician professor Sheila Bird said the test results from Amsterdam were concerning, but that more data was needed. "There may be household clusters among the 13 Omicron positives or clustering may have been induced by where passengers were seated on the flight from South Africa," she told the Science Media Centre, adding that the vaccination status and age distribution of those infected will also need to be considered before any conclusions are made about the variant.

The situation should be seen with "alert rather than alarm until more is known," she said.
Canadian health officials also confirmed the country's first two Omicron cases in Ottawa on Sunday. Both individuals carrying the variant had recently traveled from Nigeria, according to a joint statement by Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore.

"We continue to urge the federal government to take the necessary steps to mandate point-of-arrival testing for all travelers irrespective of where they're coming from to further protect against the spread of this new variant," the joint statement also said.

Variant of concern
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the Omicron variant, originally referred to as B.1.1.529, a "variant of concern."

WHO said on Friday that early evidence suggest the Omicron variant, first identified in South Africa, could pose an increased risk of reinfection and said that some of the mutations detected on the variant were concerning.

But WHO stressed that more research is needed to determine whether the variant is more contagious, whether it causes more severe disease, and whether it could evade vaccines.
"This variant has a large number of mutations and some of these mutations have some worrying characteristics," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead for Covid-19, said in a statement on Friday.

"Right now there are many studies that are underway ... so far there's little information but those studies are underway so we need researchers to have the time to carry those out and WHO will inform the public and our partners and our member states as soon as we have more information," she added.

Travel bans and new quarantine requirements
The variant's discovery and fast spread across the world is an uncomfortable reminder that the pandemic is far from over.

A number of countries have slammed their borders shut to travelers from southern Africa, with the European Union, Japan, Australia, the United States, Canada, Rwanda and many others banning travelers from countries including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

But South Africa and some of the other countries hit by the travel bans are pushing back. Speaking in Pretoria on Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the bans as baseless discrimination.

"These restrictions are unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our Southern African sister countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic," he said.

South Africa's Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation has said the country was being punished for its transparency. "Excellent science should be applauded and not punished. The global community needs collaboration and partnerships in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic," the ministry said in a statement.

"A combination of South Africa's capacity to test and its ramped-up vaccination programme, backed up by world class scientific community, should give our global partners the comfort that we are doing as well as they are in managing the pandemic. South Africa follows and enforces globally recognized Covid-19 health protocols on travel. No infected individuals are permitted to leave the country," it added.

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera also criticized the travel bans, saying they were "uncalled for." "Covid measures must be based on science, not Afrophobia," he said on his official Facebook page.

Many experts said South African scientists deserved credit for their ability to quickly identify the risks stemming from the new variant.

The move to impose bans has also sparked criticism from WHO. "We've seen in the past, the minute there's any kind of mention of any kind of variation and everyone is closing borders and restricting travel. It's really important that we remain open, and stay focused," WHO's Head of Emergencies Dr. Michael Ryan said Saturday.

"South Africa has very, very good genomic sequencing capacity and capability ... certainly South Africa and any other countries should not be stigmatized for reporting it and doing the right thing," Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, told CNN in a phone interview.

However, Head said that travel bans, if used correctly, could play a role in controlling the outbreak.

"It's difficult scenario. It can buy you a bit of time. So if countries are imposing a ban and using that time, which will be at the moment a few weeks, to increase the pace of vaccination rollouts to make sure that any new antiviral drugs are available within the country, to increase testing, genomic surveillance at airports, that sort of thing, that's something you can usefully do with a travel ban," he said.

"If you just implement a travel ban and say 'right, job done' then that's no good to anyone. And if you do, as it were, punish countries for reporting new variants, we should really look to support them as well, whether it's infrastructure or funding or vaccine doses whatever might be appropriate."

More Countries Report Cases of New Omicron Variant [WebMD, 29 Nov 2021]

By Carolyn Crist

Nov. 29, 2021 -- The United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Australia reported their first cases of the new Omicron variant during the weekend, joining a growing list of countries that have confirmed cases among travelers returning from southern Africa.

The U.S. hasn’t detected the variant yet, but it’s possible that it could already be spreading across the country, according to Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“When you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and you’re already having travel-related cases…it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over,” he told “Weekend TODAY.”

The World Health Organization labeled Omicron, known scientifically as B.1.1.529, as a “variant of concern” on Friday, meaning that there could be a higher risk of transmission, severe disease and evasion from vaccines. Omicron has a large number of mutations, which could make it more contagious and less treatable, Fauci said.

“These are all maybes, but the suggestion is enough,” he said. “This is something we’ve 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.”

On Sunday, Australia and Denmark were the latest countries to confirm Omicron cases.
Australian officials said the variant was detected among two travelers who were fully vaccinated and had no symptoms. In Denmark, the variant was found among two travelers who recently arrived from South Africa.

Dutch health officials said on Sunday that at least 13 cases of the Omicron variant were detected in 61 passengers who had positive COVID-19 tests. They were among more than 500 people who arrived on two flights from South Africa to The Netherlands and have been quarantined.

Two cases were identified in the U.K. on Saturday among two people who traveled to southern Africa. Germany also confirmed two cases on Saturday among travelers who entered the country at the Munich airport. Italy reported that a case had been detected in a passenger who arrived from Mozambique.

In response, the European Union is restricting travel to and from seven countries in southern Africa — Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The U.S. and South Korea have announced travel restrictions to those countries, as well as Malawi.
In Israel, which has confirmed one Omicron case and has several suspected cases, officials announced it is barring foreign travelers from all countries for 14 days. Japan has followed suit, Saying that starting Tuesday, it is barring all foreign visitors from around the world.

Omicron cases have also been reported in Belgium, Botswana, Hong Kong, and South Africa. As of Monday morning, 145 Omicron cases had been reported to GISAID, a global database for the genomic sequencing of viruses.

Scientists have urged caution, saying that little is known about the variant so far. Some variants of concern, such as the Delta variant, have been more contagious and spread globally, but others have had limited effects. Existing vaccines likely offer some protection, according to Fauci.

He emphasized that people shouldn’t panic but that they should continue to take precautions such as wearing masks, following physical distancing guidelines and avoiding large indoor gatherings.

“It is absolutely essential that unvaccinated people get vaccinated and that vaccinated people get boosters,” he told TODAY. “We know now clearly that when you get a booster shot…you dramatically increase the level of protection.”

Infographic: How Omicron compares with other COVID variants [Aljazeera.com, 29 Nov 2021]

By Mohammed Haddad

WHO says preliminary evidence indicates an ‘increased risk of reinfection with Omicron’ compared with other coronavirus variants, but information is limited.

On November 24, 2021, scientists in South Africa reported a new coronavirus variant with a higher number of mutations than were found in other variants. Two days later, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the new variant, dubbed Omicron, was a variant of concern (VOC).

The announcement led many countries to impose travel restrictions.

What are mutations?
All viruses mutate, and the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has continued to mutate since it emerged in late 2019. A mutation is a change in a virus’s genetic code, and a mutated virus is known as a variant.

Some coronavirus variants spread more easily than others, which can lead to increases in the rate of infection. A surge in infections can put additional strain on healthcare resources, potentially leading to more hospitalisations and deaths.

Experts believe there are at least 50 mutations on the new variant, with 32 mutations on the spike protein, the part of the virus that enters human cells. Scientists have said that similar mutations seen in other variants have been associated with higher transmission and a higher chance of escaping the body’s immune defences, compared with the original strain of the virus.

Mutations are identified by letters and numbers such as D614G – which means an amino acid changed from a D (aspartate) to a G (glycine) at position number 614 of the viral spike proteins.

How variants are named
The WHO has identified five VOCs and eight variants of interest (VOI). Since May 2021, they have been named after the letters of the Greek alphabet starting with Alpha.

According to this, the next assigned letters were supposed to be Nu then Xi but according to the WHO, “Nu is too easily confounded with ‘new’ and Xi was not used because it is a common surname.”

Instead, the 15th letter, Omicron, was used.

How Omicron compares with other variants
The WHO has said the global risk of the Omicron variant is “very high”.

Currently, the Delta variant, first documented in India in October 2020, is the most dominant strain, accounting for more than 99 percent of global sequenced cases.

On Sunday, the WHO said it is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible or causes more severe disease compared with other variants. It added that “vaccines remain critical to reducing severe disease and death”.

Preliminary evidence suggests there may be an “increased risk of reinfection with Omicron as compared with other variants of concern, but information is limited”, it said.

South African epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim said on Monday that not enough data had been collected to determine the clinical implications of Omicron compared with previous variants, and that reinfections were likely but that vaccinated people had less probability of developing serious symptoms.

Experts say that more information will be available in the coming days and weeks as the virus spreads more widely and researchers study how Omicron’s mutations work together.

How to protect yourself and others
The WHO advises the following steps to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
1. Get vaccinated
2. Wear a mask
3. Maintain physical distancing
4. Ventilate indoor spaces
5. Keep good hygiene
6. Self-isolate if you develop symptoms

Omicron variant has made it to North America [Fortune, 329Nov 2021]

BY CHRIS MORRIS

Doctors in Canada have confirmed the first known case of the Omicron variant in North America.

The country’s minister of health said on Sunday that two cases of the COVID-19 mutation had been discovered. Omicron has spread quickly and disrupted financial markets and world travel in the past five days. And U.S. health officials say it could already be in 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,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Saturday’s Weekend Today.

The Canadian cases involved two Ontario residents who were returning from Nigeria.

“Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management, and the patients are in isolation,” officials said in a statement. “The Ontario COVID-19 Genomic Network is continuing to actively monitor for all potential variants circulating in the province, including the Omicron variant, and is conducting genomic sequencing on 100% of eligible COVID-19 positive samples.”

Omicron was first detected on Nov. 24, based on a specimen collected on Nov. 9. The World Health Organization has labeled it a “very high” global risk, saying that the “unprecedented number of spike mutations” in the variant could “impact the trajectory of the pandemic.”

Public health officials in South Africa say the symptoms so far seem mild, but health officials tell Fortune they are still waiting on hard data on severity. And there’s no data yet on how deadly Omicron may be among more vulnerable populations.

It will be mid-December or so before pharmaceutical companies have any information on how effective current vaccines are against the variant. BioNTech and Pfizer said that they can adapt their mRNA vaccine within six weeks and begin vaccine rollout within 100 days.