Category: Breaking News

Britain, Germany and Italy detected cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa. The discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could stall a global recovery from the nearly two-year pandemic. 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 variant. The two linked cases of Omicron detected in Britain were connected to travel to southern Africa, British health minister Sajid Javid said. Johnson laid out measures that included stricter testing rules for people arriving in the country but that stopped short of curbs on social activity other than requiring mask-wearing in some settings. “We will require anyone who enters the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result,” Johnson told a news conference. People who had come into contact with people testing positive for a suspected case of Omicron would have to self-isolate for 10 days and the government would tighten the rules on wearing face coverings, Johnson said, adding the steps would be reviewed in three weeks. The health ministry in the German state of Bavaria also announced two confirmed cases of the variant. The two people entered Germany at Munich airport on November 24, before Germany designated South Africa as a virus-variant area, and were now isolating, said the ministry, indicating without stating explicitly that the people had travelled from South Africa. In Italy, the National Health Institute said a case of the new variant had been detected in Milan in a person coming from Mozambique. Czech health authorities also said they were examining a suspected case of the variant in a person who spent time in Namibia. Omicron, dubbed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, is potentially more contagious than previous variants of the disease, although experts do not know yet if it will cause more or less severe Covid-19 compared to other variants. England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Witty said at the same news conference as Johnson that 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 was first discovered in South Africa and has also since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong. The Dutch authorities said 61 of around 600 people who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for Covid-19. Health authorities were carrying out further tests to see if those cases involved the new variant. One passenger who arrived from South Africa on Friday, Dutch photographer Paula Zimmerman, said she tested negative but was anxious for the days to come. “I’ve been told that they expect that a lot more people will test positive after five days. It’s a little scary the idea that you’ve been in a plane with a lot of people who tested positive,” she said. Financial markets plunged on Friday, especially stocks of airlines and others in the travel sector. Oil prices tumbled by about $10 a barrel. It could take weeks for scientists to understand fully the variant’s mutations and whether existing vaccines and treatments are effective against it.

SOUTH AFRICA has been placed back on the red list as a deadly variant of coronavirus spreads across the country, – but now the Botswana variant has reached the UK. A new coronavirus variant has seen South Africa placed back on the UK’s red travel list with fears the variant has the potential to thwart immunity from vaccines or previous infections. The B.1.1.529 Covid variant – also known as the Botswana variant – has only been seen in a handful of cases so far, but the potential to evade immunity has seen it dubbed the “worst we’ve seen so far” by officials. Caes have increased quickly across South Africa, prompting the UK Government to place the country back on the red travel list. Approximately 500 to 700 people arrive in the UK from South Africa each day, however with Christmas nearing this number is expected to grow. Anyone who has arrived in the UK from South Africa over the past 10 days will be invited to take a Covid test. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said flights from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will be suspended from midday on Friday. He said all six countries will be added to the red list, and from 4am on Sunday anyone arriving to the UK from those countries will be required to isolate in hotels.

Continue reading “UK confirms 2 Omicron COVID cases….. First suspected Omicron case found in Germany, Czech Republic”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said on Friday they do not plan any changes to their South Africa-U.S. routes after the White House said it plans to impose new travel curbs on southern Africa starting Monday amid concerns about a new COVID-19 variant. Delta and United are the only U.S. passenger carriers that have direct flights to southern Africa. Delta currently operates service between Johannesburg and Atlanta three times weekly and the U.S. airline said “there are no planned adjustments to service at this time.” The White House said it plans to bar entry to most non-U.S. citizens who have been in South Africa and seven other African countries within the last 14 days. Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. passenger and cargo carriers, said Friday it remains “in communication with the U.S. government as specifics remain unknown at this time and there are many unanswered questions. Amid this rapidly evolving situation, it is critical that U.S. government decisions regarding international travel restrictions and requirements be rooted in science.” United said it “remains committed to maintaining a safe and vital link for essential supplies and personnel to transit between the African continent and the United States as feasible. We don’t have any adjustments to our schedule at this time.” United currently operates five flights per week between Newark and Johannesburg and reiterated Friday it plans to restart service between Newark and Cape Town on Dec. 1 as scheduled.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch health authorities said on Saturday they had detected 61 COVID-19 cases among people who flew from South Africa on Friday and were now conducting further testing to see whether any are infected with the recently discovered Omicron variant. The cases were discovered among around 600 passengers who arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on two flights on Friday before the Dutch government halted air traffic from southern Africa due to concerns over the variant. The passengers from the flights were kept separated from other travellers and those that tested positive are being kept in isolation at a hotel near the airport. A spokesperson for the Dutch health ministry said it would not be known until later Saturday whether any of passengers are infected with the new variant. A spokesperson for KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France, said the airline was trying to determine what rules were in place as of Friday morning to prevent people with COVID-19 infections from boarding the flights, which departed from Cape Town and Johannesburg. Rules on the company’s website said passengers had to present a negative COVID-19 “rapid antigen” test result taken 24 hours before departure but were not required to show proof of vaccination. A spokesperson for the health authorities in Kennemerland, the Dutch region that oversees Schiphol, said the positive cases were being analysed by the National Institute for Health (RIVM). The new variant has been detected just as many European countries are grappling with a surge in coronavirus cases.The Dutch government on Friday announced nighttime closure of bars, restaurants and most stores as it tries to curb a record-breaking wave of COVID-19 cases that is swamping its healthcare system.

WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – Shares tumbled on Wall Street on Friday as they reopened after Thanksgiving, while European stocks saw their biggest sell-off in 17 months and oil prices plunged by $10 per barrel as fears over a new coronavirus variant sent investors scurrying to safe-haven assets.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday designated a new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa with a large number of mutations as being “of concern,” the fifth variant to be given the designation. Continue reading “Equities, oil prices, U.S. Treasury yields all drop on COVID variant fears”