Omicron Covid-19 variant: Top international developments today. Around a week after South African health experts alerted the world to a new, potentially dangerous variant of novel coronavirus, India has extended the nationwide Covid-19 containment measures till December 31. Health officials have said that the variant was in Europe several days earlier than previously known, and more than 20 countries have reported cases of omicron variant. Brazil on alert after third case of Omicron variant
Brazil reported a third case of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Wednesday, casting doubt on plans to loosen containment curbs ahead of year-end holidays in response to a fall in infection numbers.
According to Reuters, the latest case, an asymptomatic 29-year-old, tested positive at international airport after arriving from Ethiopia. On Tuesday, two Brazilian missionaries to South Africa had tested positive for the variant at the same airport, marking the first Omicron cases reported in Latin America.
WHO expects to have more information on Omicron transmission ‘within days’
The World Health Organization expects to have more information on the transmissibility of the new Omicron variant of the cornaviras within days, its technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said in a briefing on Wednesday.
That was faster than the “weeks” the WHO had predicted last week that it would take to assess the data available on the variant after designating it a “variant of concern”, its highest rating. Pamela Smith-Lawrence, Acting Director of Health in the Ministry of Health and Wellness told Reuters in an interview that the majority of the 19 people who were found to be infected with the new Omicron variant have already tested negative.
While 16 people were asymptomatic, the remaining two had “very, very mild” symptoms. Majority of Omicron variant cases were asymptomatic’
A top official in Botswana’s health ministry said on Tuesday that 16 out of the total 19 cases of the Omicron variant detected in the country were asymptomatic, and said it was “unfair” to treat the country as ground zero of the new variant, news agency Reuters reported.
A notice about COVID-19 safety measures is pictured next to closed doors at a departure hall of Narita international airport on the first day of closed borders to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus Omicron variant in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan, November 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Pamela Smith-Lawrence, Acting Director of Health in the Ministry of Health and Wellness told Reuters in an interview that the majority of the 19 people who were found to be infected with the new Omicron variant have already tested negative.
While 16 people were asymptomatic, the remaining two had “very, very mild” symptoms.
Norway detects its first 2 cases of Omicron variant
Norway has identified its first two cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, the west coast municipality of Oeygarden said on Wednesday.
The two people who were infected had been on a trip to South Africa. Both of them were currently recovering from the infection, Reuters reported citing a statement from mayor Tom Georg Indrevik.
People wait to be vaccinated with a Covid-19 vaccine at a public hospital in Harare, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP)
Norway on Friday decided to impose a quarantine on any travellers arriving from South Africa or neighbouring countries, following a similar decision by neighbouring Denmark and many other countries around the world
The United States is moving to require that all air travellers entering the country show a negative Covid-19 test performed within one day of departure, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Tuesday. Currently, vaccinated international travellers can present a negative result obtained within three days from their point of departure. The new one-day testing requirement would apply to US citizens as well as foreign nationals.
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