Reuters.- Air travelers bound for the United States will face stricter Covid-19 testing standards and other countries tightened border controls on Wednesday to try to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, which Nigeria said was circulating weeks earlier than reported. thought.
Retrospective testing of confirmed Covid-19 infections in travelers to Nigeria identified Ómicron among a sample collected in October, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control said, without naming the country of origin.
South Africa first reported on the variant a week ago and many countries have responded by banning travel from there and elsewhere considered more exposed amid uncertainty about how easily the variant can spread and whether it can evade the protection of the vaccine.
Data from other countries already show that the variant was circulating before it was officially identified in South Africa and cases have appeared all over the world. Australia said at least two people visited various venues in Sydney while they were likely infectious and Denmark said one infected person had participated in a large concert.
Japan, which had already banned the arrival of foreigners, reported its second case of the new variant and said it will expand travel restrictions.
Hong Kong added Japan, Portugal and Sweden to its travel restrictions, while Uzbekistan said it will suspend flights with Hong Kong and South Africa. Malaysia temporarily banned travelers from eight African countries and said Britain and the Netherlands could join the list.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “generic travel bans will not prevent international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods ”, while advising postponing their trips to people who do not feel well, are at risk, are 60 years or older or are not vaccinated.
Global stocks left the lows hit the day before on Wednesday after comments by Moderna’s chief executive that raised doubts about the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines against Ómicron.
Also read: WHO is concerned about the global overreaction due to Omicron
Since then, health authorities have offered assurances and reiterated their calls for people to get vaccinated, saying the doses are very likely still to keep people from getting seriously ill.
BioNTech CEO said that the vaccine it makes with Pfizer is likely to offer strong protection against a serious illness caused by Ómicron. The European Union brought forward the launch of the vaccine for children between five and 11 years old by a week.
London and Washington expanded their booster programs in response to the new variant, which has highlighted the disparity between mass vaccination in rich nations and low inoculation in the developing world.
Some 56 countries are reportedly implementing travel measures to protect themselves against Ómicron as of November 28, the WHO said.
WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is concerned that several member states are “introducing strong and comprehensive measures (…) that will only worsen inequalities.”
Nigeria and Norway are some of the latest countries to report cases of the variant, while Saudi Arabia confirmed its first case from a North African country.
Germany, which is battling an increase in Covid-19 infections and deaths, reported that four fully vaccinated people tested positive. by Ómicron in the south of the country, although they presented moderate symptoms.
The United States is moving to require that all travelers entering the country by air show a negative test for Covid-19 taken a day before departure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday. at night.
Global airlines are bracing for more volatility, analysts said. Japanese airlines ANA and JAL said they will suspend their new bookings for international flights to the country until the end of December.
“It feels a bit like we’re going back to where we were a year ago and that’s not a great prospect for the industry and beyond,” said Deidre Fulton of consultancy MIDAS Aviation at an industry webinar.
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