The new one coronavirus variant, Omicron, continues to spread throughout the world after 13 cases detected in Netherlands, and led to Israel to close its borders to foreign citizens.
With more than five million deaths worldwide since the pandemic was declared in 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered the new Omicron variant, detected this week, as “worrisome”.
According to a first “image” of the new strain, made and published by the hospital Baby Jesus of Rome, Ómicron presents many more mutations than the Delta variantAlthough that “does not automatically mean that these variations are more dangerous,” the researchers said.
Identified in South Africa on Thursday, many countries reacted by closing their borders with southern African nations.
This Sunday, the WHO reiterated its call to “that the borders remain open” and affirmed to be “next to the African countries” in a statement.
“We are in a race against the clock” to stop the new variant, admitted this Sunday the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
In the Netherlands, health authorities announced on Sunday that thirteen passengers from South Africa what they gave positive for Covid-19 on their arrival in Amsterdam on Friday they carry the Omicron variant.
And there could be more cases, since, in total, 61 positives were detected.
Israel, where a case of a traveler from Malawi was confirmed, decided to ban foreigners from entering its territory as of Sunday, and force its vaccinated citizens back to the country to undergo a test PCR and keep three days of quarantine (seven if they are not vaccinated).
This decision comes less than a month after the country had reopened its borders (on November 1), and eight days before the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Denmark announced on Sunday two cases of infected with the new strain in passengers from South Africa.
Two cases were also reported in Australia, in two vaccinated passengers returning from southern Africa, who had arrived in Sydney on the same day that the borders with nine African countries were closed. Twelve passengers on the same flight are in quarantine.
Australia had recently lifted the ban on its vaccinated citizens from traveling abroad without authorization.
The Omicron variant was also detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and several European countries (Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic).
New restrictions
The new one variant B.1.1.529 of Covid-19 represents a “high to very high” risk for Europe, according to the European Union Health Agency.
Europe was already experiencing an increase in cases long before the appearance of Omicron, which led to the reestablishment of sanitary restrictions, leading to violent demonstrations last weekend in the Netherlands and the French Antilles.
On Austria, tens of thousands of people demonstrated this weekend against the obligation to be vaccinated.
The Swiss voted yes this Sunday to the law that allows the establishment of the Covid passport in the country, in the middle of the fifth wave of the pandemic and after a tense electoral campaign that raised fears of new demonstrations during the day.
New restrictions will take effect on Tuesday in the UK, such as the return of the masks and the tightening of access to the country.
Other countries are announcing the suspension of flights from countries in southern Africa where the variant is present, such as South Africa, Mozambique, Eswatini (or Swaziland), Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana.
Angola, on the UK’s red list, became the first southern African country to suspend its flights in the area on Sunday.
The Philippines, for its part, announced the cancellation of flights from areas where the variant has been detected.
Saudi Arabia extended the list of countries with which it suspends flights to 14. Kuwait and Qatar (a major air hub) also announced restrictions with nine and five African countries, respectively.
“Transparency”
On USA, which had also opened its borders to the world at the beginning of November, the arrival of travelers from eight countries in southern Africa will be prohibited.
Washington congratulated South Africa on Saturday for “transparency in sharing this information” after the southern country felt “punished” for having announced the detection of “Omicron.” An undisguised allusion by the United States to the initial management of the pandemic that it made China.
Vaccine manufacturers AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Modern and Novavax They were confident in their ability to fight this new strain.
About 54% of the world’s population received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, only 5.6% in low-income countries, according to the page Our World in Data. In South Africa, only 23.8% of the population has the full pattern.
The new variant caused concern regarding the global economic recovery, and Friday was a black day for stock indices and the price of oil.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx