Covid-19 world: US travel chaos looms and Germany locks down unvaxxed in Omicron push
Travellers flying to the US face uncertainty from strict new Covid rules in push to curb Omicron variant.
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Travellers to the United States could be left in limbo from new Covid requirements requiring a negative test within one day of boarding flights.
Previously, travellers could get tested three days before departure, meaning anyone already scheduled to fly to the US will either need to get a new test or cancel flights depending on when the new requirements begin.
Getting tests returned within 24-hours can often increase costs in many countries. Anyone who does board a flight, meanwhile, faces increased fines of $USD500 if they refuse to wear masks.
President Joe Biden’s announcement of the new Covid response measures comes a day after health authorities confirmed the country’s first case of the Omicron variant case in fully vaccinated 22-year-old who travelled to California.
The new rule of a negative Covid test within one day of global departure applies to both US citizens and foreigners, regardless of vaccination status or nationality.
Travellers will also have to wear masks at airports and on planes, trains and buses for longer than planned, with mandates set to expire in January being extended until at least March. The minimum fine for breaking the mandate will also double from $250 to $500.
The White House’s new measures will also include new “family mobile vaccination clinics”, a new campaign encouraging booster shots, and subsidised rapid home test kits.
It appears travellers will be spared the most stringent conditions that had been considered, which included a seven-day self-quarantine and Covid testing after arriving in the US.
Biden is expected to formally detail the plan during a speech at the National Institutes of Health.
GERMANY PUTS UNVACCINATED IN LOCKDOWN
Germany, meanwhile, unveiled strict curbs on public life for the unvaccinated in an attempt to curb surging infection rates of the Delta variant.
Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that large parts of life would be denied to anyone who does not comply with the government’s mandates.
“Culture and leisure nationwide will be open only to those who have been vaccinated or recovered,” Ms Merkel said.
If approved by German parliament, anyone determined not to have taken the injection will be banned from entering bars, restaurants and cinemas, according to a document signed off by leaders.
Germany joins it neighbour Austria as the second country to implement lockdowns targeted at anyone who hasn’t taken the Covid injection.
MOST OMICRON CASES ‘MILD’
Most Omicron cases are “mild” and there is no evidence to suggest current vaccines are less effective against the Covid variant, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) official.
The WHO has slammed countries for placing the “heavy burden” of travel restrictions on people based on the new variant, which early research suggests is either mild or asymptomatic.
An anonymous WHO official speaking ahead of the agency’s official release of its findings this week told Reuters that preliminary indications suggest most cases are “mild”, and that there have been no reports of severe illness.
While a lot is unknown about the strain, the official added that early data shows existing PCR tests should still work and that there is no evidence showing any impact from the Omicron variant on vaccine effectiveness against serious illness
The agency’s assessment is in line with the South African doctor, Angelique Coetzee, who first identified the Omicron variant and recorded its symptoms as “very mild”.
Botswana’s health ministry, meanwhile, said 16 out of 19 Omicron cases were asymptomatic.
“Most of them are seeing very, very mild symptoms and none of them so far have admitted patients to surgeries. We have been able to treat these patients conservatively at home,” Dr Coetzee said.
The WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said on Wednesday findings would be released within days outlining the transmissibility of the new variant and whether vaccines are effective against it.
While it is possible that Omicron could be more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant, Ms van Kerkhove said it had not yet been shown that its symptoms make people more ill.
She said travel bans implemented since the “variant of concern” was discovered were a challenge to shipping Omicron samples for study out of African countries, creating “implications” as they work to learn more about the strain.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “tailored” interventions rather than “blanket travel bans” that “place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods”.
US president Joe Biden said he would announce within the next day his administration’s steps to combat Omicron, which officials have said could include strict testing, seven-day quarantine for all travellers into the country under the threat of fines.
“This new variant is a cause for concern, but not a cause for panic,” he said. “We’re learning more every single day and we’ll fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion.”
NEW TRAVEL RULES AS US CONFIRMS FIRST OMICRON CASE
Strict new testing and mandatory quarantine measures are being considered for all travellers entering the United States regardless of vaccination status, or negative tests, under threat of fines and further penalties.
The new requirements come as the US confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant had been recorded in the country.
The fully vaccinated traveller returned from South Africa returned to California on November 22.
In an attempt to get ahead of the Omicron variant, anyone entering the US would need to be tested one day before boarding flights and again three days after arriving under plans expected to be announced by president Joe Biden.
The new rules could include a seven-day self-quarantine for everyone regardless of negative Covid tests, even US citizens, according to three federal health officials quoted by The Washington Post.
For the first time, the White House is also considering imposing fines and other penalties for anyone who breaks the strict new testing and self-quarantine measures.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the new testing requirements are in a public health order currently being reviewed by the White House.
The self-quarantine measures would be added to the requirements if the draft order gets broad agreement within the Biden administration, health officials told the Post.
The new measures would be a dramatic escalation from current Covid measures for entering the United States, which require vaccinated travellers to get a negative test three days before flights and unvaccinated travellers to get a negative test one day earlier.
The CDC confirmed in a statement that it is working on the proposal to shorten that timeline for all international travellers to one day.
While the agency currently recommends an additional test after arrival, plus self-quarantine for unvaccinated travellers, there is no enforcement mechanism like those in the new plains being drawn up for approval.
Officials told the Post the Department of Justice would consider the severity of the fines and how the government would track and enforce the penalties on anyone who breaks the new mandates.
OMICRON SPREADS TO 20 COUNTRIES
The Covid Omicron variant has now been confirmed in 20 countries as scientists race to determine more about the worrying new strain and the rest of the world prepares for it to spread.
White House chief medical Adviser Anthony Fauci said that 226 cases of the highly mutated Omicron Covid-19 variant have been detected across 20 countries so far, but US officials haven’t yet confirmed a case in the US.
“This mutational profile is very different from other variants of interest and concern, and although some mutations are also found in Delta, this is not Delta,” Dr Fauci told reporters on a White House Covid-19 task force briefing.
“These mutations have been associated with increase transmissibility and immune evasion.
“The thing that got everyone’s attention was the large number of mutations, around 50, much larger than previous variants.”
It comes as Dutch health authorities revealed Omicron was present in the Netherlands earlier than previously thought.
The variant was found in two test samples from November 19 and 23, with one having no travel history, suggesting that the variant was already circulating in the Netherlands, the RIVM public health institute said.
The first Omicron cases in the Netherlands were previously believed to have been the cluster of 14 among passengers on two flights from South Africa that arrived in Amsterdam on Friday.
The Netherlands now joins other European countries including Belgium and Germany that have reported cases of the new strain before it was officially notified by South Africa to the World Health Organisation on November 24.
“We found two additional cases of Omicron variant which have been sampled on the 19th and 23rd of November,” RIVM infectious diseases chief Aura Timen told AFP.
“So that points at the presence already of this variant in the Netherlands.”
US CONSIDERS ACCELERATING BOOSTER SHOTS
US President Joe Biden on Monday said more scientific research was being done about how severe the strain is, how quickly it spreads and how dangerous it is.
He urged Americans to wear masks when indoors and in other public settings around other people, including in states where it’s not mandatory.
“This variant is a cause for concern but not a cause for panic,” he told reporters.
“We need to know how strongly the existing vaccines protect against the variant.
“It remains to be seen what the elements of this particular strain are.”
If it’s determined that there is a need for a new vaccine or booster that “development would be accelerated”.
Mr Biden said the administration was already in talks with Pfizer and Moderna about a contingency plan.
“We do not yet believe that additional measures will be needed,” he added, referring to lockdowns, shutdowns and further travel restrictions.
Earlier on Monday, the US banned most travellers from eight southern African countries from entering the US in an effort to slow transmission and buy more time for scientists to conduct further testing of the Omicron variant.
“I expect this not to be the new normal,” Mr Biden said.
“I expect the new normal to be everyone ends up getting vaccinated with a booster shot so we’ve reduced the number of people protected to such a low degree we’re not seeing the spread of the virus.”
Tune in as I provide an update on the Omicron variant. https://t.co/6hbzINU14w
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 29, 2021
JAPAN SLAMS BORDERS SHUT TO FOREIGN VISITORS
Japan will close its borders to all foreigners as nations scramble to rein in the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the changes would take place from Tuesday.
“We are (taking measures) with a strong sense of crisis,” he had told reporters earlier, although no Omicron infections have yet been found in Japan.
The ban includes business travellers, foreign students and foreign interns.
Kishida said Japan, where more than 76 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, would go ahead with plans to administer booster shots from next month.
It comes as pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said they would be able to manufacture and distribute an updated version of their Covid-19 vaccine within 100 days, if the new Omicron variant spreads.
The highly infectious new strain was discovered in South Africa, but cases have already been detected in Italy, Germany and the UK, prompting a wave of new travel restrictions across the world.
Cases have also been recorded in Israel and Hong Kong, while Australia recorded two new cases on Sunday after passengers arrived in Sydney from southern Africa and tested positive for the new variant.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation labelled the Omicron strain as a “variant of concern”.
With more than 30 mutations on its spike protein, it’s more than double the number carried by Delta, meaning it could be easier to evade antibodies created by vaccines which is making it a particular concern for scientists.
Even among the vaccinated, the mutations might also cause the variant to spread easily.
However, at this point, the exact effect of Omicron is unknown.
Pfizer said it expects to know within two weeks from tests whether the Omicron variant is resistant to its current vaccine.
“Pfizer and BioNTech have taken actions months ago to be able to adapt the mRNA vaccine within six weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days in the event of an escape variant,” the company said.
Moderna, which was made available to Aussies at the start of October, said it also has plans to test a variant specific booster if its current jab is ineffective against Omicron.
“From the beginning, we have said that as we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we are proactive as the virus evolves,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said.
“The mutations in the Omicron variant are concerning and for several days, we have been moving as fast as possible to execute our strategy to address this variant.”
The company said it will also test three booster candidates against Omicron, including at a higher dosage level.
European manufacturer AstraZeneca said it was also looking into the new variant.
“AstraZeneca is also already conducting research in locations where the variant has been identified, namely in Botswana and Eswatini,” the company said.
UK RECORDS THIRD OMICRON CASE
A third case of the highly transmissible Omicron Covid variant was detected in the UK on Monday.
The person tested positive after travelling to Britain from southern Africa where the variant originated.
Chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, told the Sun that it was “very likely” further infections will be recorded next week.
“Our advanced sequencing capabilities enable us to find variants and take rapid action to limit onward spread,” she said.
“It is very likely that we will find more cases over the coming days as we are seeing in other countries globally and as we increase case detection through focused contact tracing.
“We are continuing our efforts to understand the effect of this variant on transmissibility, severe disease, mortality, antibody response and vaccine efficacy.”
US PRAISES SOUTH AFRICA’S DETECTION OF NEW VARIANT
The United States has praised South Africa for quickly identifying the new Omicron Covid-19 strain and sharing this information with the world, taking a swipe at China’s handling of the original outbreak.
Speaking with South Africa’s international relations and co-operation minister, Naledi Pandor, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Africa’s fight against Covid-19 and on increasing vaccinations.
“Secretary Blinken specifically praised South Africa’s scientists for the quick identification of the Omicron variant and South Africa’s government for its transparency in sharing this information, which should serve as a model for the world,” the statement said.
It’s not the first time the US has taken a swipe at China.
Both Donald Trump and now President Joe Biden have openly criticised China as not being forthcoming on the origins of Covid, which was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan before spreading around the world.
The US has also accused Beijing of waiting too long before sharing crucial information about the outbreak, saying that a more transparent handling could have helped halt the spread of the virus.
UK TIGHTENS RULES AS OMICRON SENDS WORLD INTO SPIN
The UK tightened up rules on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two cases of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The two linked cases were connected to travel to southern Africa.
One case was in Chelmsford and the other in Nottingham.
Amid fears that the new variant has the potential to be more resistant to the protection offered by Covid-19 vaccines, there are growing concerns around the world that the pandemic will persist for far longer than hoped.
In an attempt to slow the spread in the UK, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was necessary to take “targeted and precautionary measures” after two people tested positive for the new variant in England.
“Right now this is the responsible course of action to slow down the seeding and the spread of this new variant and to maximise our defences,” he told a news conference.
Anyone arriving in England must now take a mandatory PCR test for COVID-19 on the second day after their arrival and must self isolate until they provide a negative test.
And if someone tests positive for the Omicron variant, their close contacts will have to self-isolate for 10 days regardless of their vaccination status — currently close contacts are exempt from quarantine rules if they are fully-vaccinated.
England’s Chief Medical Officer, Chris Witty, said there was still much uncertainty around Omicron, but “there is a reasonable chance that at least there will be some degree of vaccine escape with this variant”.
The variant has 32 mutations, which is twice as many as the dominant Delta strain.
The WHO has listed the variant as one of official “concern”.
“Based on the evidence presented indicative of a detrimental change in Covid-19 epidemiology … the WHO has designated B. 1.1.529 as a variant of concern (VOC), named Omicron,” the UN health agency said in a statement.
The US, Australia and Saudi Arabia have suspended travel from several African nations in response to a new and heavily mutated Covid variant.
It has already spread to Europe after first being detected in South Africa, Hong Kong, Botswana and Israel.
Israel said it would ban the entry of all foreigners into the country and reintroduce counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology to contain the spread of the concerning new variant.
In Italy, a case of the new variant was detected in Milan in a person coming from Mozambique.
The health ministry in the German state of Bavaria also announced two confirmed cases of the variant.
In the German state of Hesse, tests were being carried out after a traveller arrived from South Africa.
The Czech Republic is also examining a suspected case of the Omicron variant detected in a person who spent time in Namibia.
Markets plunged as news sank in that the new variant could potentially deal a heavy blow to the global recovery.
Scientists are now racing to determine the threat posed by the heavily mutated strain, and whether the current coronavirus vaccines should be adjusted.
US President Joe Biden told media he decided to ban travel from South Africa and seven other countries on advice from health officials.
“We don’t know a lot about the variant except that it is a big concern and seems to spread rapidly,” Mr Biden said.
“I’ve decided we’re going to be cautious. We don’t know a lot about the variant except that it is a big concern and seems to spread rapidly and I spent about a half-hour this morning with my Covid team led by Dr. Fauci so that was the decision we made,” he said.
TRAVEL BANS AND RESTRICTIONS
Other countries have slapped restrictions on those travelling from the countries Omicron has been detected, including mandatory quarantine.
Many others – including several European countries battling a surge in Delta cases – have indicated they too will impose entry bans on non citizens from affected countries.
The Belgian government said that one individual who had recently arrived from Egypt, and was not vaccinated, had tested positive for the new variant, marking the first case in Europe.
South African officials initially said there was one confirmed case in a traveller from South Africa to Hong Kong. Then Hong Kong health authorities on Friday identified a second case of the B. 1.1.529 variant among returning travellers on the same floor of a designated quarantine hotel. Israel also has at least one confirmed case, according to the country’s health ministry.
The US ban comes as flights from South Africa as well Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe have been suspended and all six countries added to the Red List, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.
Tulio de Oliveira, the director of South Africa’s Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation, said the variant has “many more mutations than we have expected,” adding it is “spreading very fast and we expect to see pressure in the health system in the next few days and weeks.”
Dr @mvankerkhove gives an update on #COVID19 virus variant B.1.1.529, during the #AskWHO session on 25 November 2021 â¬‡ï¸ pic.twitter.com/ZpflfEYzW9
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 25, 2021
Health experts say the variant could reduce vaccine effectiveness to as little as 30 per cent and there are signs it is more transmissible that the currently dominant Delta strain.
Lawrence Young, a virologist and a professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom, said the variant was “very worrying.”
“It is the most heavily mutated version of the virus we have seen to date. This variant carries some changes we’ve seen previously in other variants but never all together in one virus. It also has novel mutations,” Young said in a statement.
WORRYING NEW Covid VARIANT
Virologists believe the strain is an offshoot of an older variant called B. 1.1, which was first spotted in Botswana.
Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College, posted details of the new variant, noting it was the first time he had seen two particular mutations in one variant.
“Export to Asia implies this might be more widespread than sequences alone would imply,” he tweeted.
“Also the extremely long branch length and incredibly high amount of spike mutations suggest this could be of real concern (predicted escape from most known monoclonal antibodies).
“Worth emphasising this is at super low numbers right now in a region of Africa that is fairly well sampled, however it very, very much should be monitored due to that horrific spike profile (would take a guess that this would be worse antigenically than nearly anything else about).”
Experts say new variants are found fairly often, and mostly don’t spread over a cluster of cases. They can also quickly die out if they present in a country with a more dominant variant.
Covid-19 Incident Director at the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Meera Chand, told the Sun: In partnership with scientific bodies across the globe, is constantly monitoring the status of SARS-CoV-2 variants as they emerge and develop worldwide.
“As it is in the nature of viruses to mutate often and at random, it is not unusual for small numbers of cases to arise featuring new sets of mutations.
“Any variants showing evidence of spread are rapidly assessed.”
EU APPROVES FIRST Covid JAB FOR KIDS
The European Union has cleared Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged five to 11 making it the first jab to be approved in a cohort where the virus is rapidly spreading.
Only a small handful of countries had previously given the nod for coronavirus vaccinations in younger children, including the US, Israel and Canada.
“I’m glad to tell you that Comirnaty from today has received approval for children five to 11 years of age,” said Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), using the vaccine’s brand name.
“This is based on a different dose in the one used in adults, essentially it’s a much lower dose,” he told an online public meeting.
The vaccine was already cleared for use in people aged 12 and over in the 27-nation EU.
Children aged five to 11 will be given one third of the dose that older people receive, with two injections, three weeks apart, the EMA said in a statement.
The vaccine was 90.7 per cent effective in a study of nearly 2,000 children of that age, it added.
Side effects were usually “mild or moderate” lasting a few days, and included pain in the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain and chills.
The EMA “therefore concluded that the benefits of Comirnaty in children aged five to 11 outweigh the risks, particularly in those with conditions that increase the risk of severe Covid-19.”
But the Pfizer jab’s safety in children “will continue to be monitored closely”.
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