November 30 Omicron coronavirus variant news

Japan will ban foreign nationals with Japanese residency from re-entering the country if they are traveling from 10 southern African nations over concerns of the spread of the Omicron variant, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The measure will come into force on Thursday and follows a ban on the new entry of foreign nationals enacted earlier this week. It will prevent foreign residents from returning to Japan from South Africa, Angola, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, and Lesotho, the ministry said.

The ministry said from Thursday, Japanese citizens and residents traveling from Sweden, Spain, Nigeria, and Portugal must quarantine at a government designated facility for three days upon their arrival.

A third dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine lowers the risk of testing positive for the virus by an extra 80% or more, over and above the protection offered by the first two doses, researchers reported Tuesday.

“We estimated an 83% to 87% reduction in the odds of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 after at least 2 weeks following receipt of the booster compared with receiving 2 doses,” the team, led by Daniel Weinberger at the Yale School of Public Health, wrote in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

The team followed more than 300,000 people covered by Maccabi Healthcare Services in Israel who were age 40 or older and got either two or three doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine. They found 6.6% of people who got two doses of vaccine and 1.8% of those who got three doses tested positive between August and early October. That’s an 86% reduction in risk, they said.

“The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was the dominant strain in Israel during the summer of 2021 (responsible for more than 99% of cases) and caused a rapidly growing number of cases, many in vaccinated individuals. A national third-dose (booster) vaccination campaign was initiated in Israel on August 1, 2021,” the team wrote.
“By October 4, 2021, more than 3.6 million individuals had received a booster dose.”

Note: The study was conducted before the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working to revise testing requirements for inbound international travelers because of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, the agency confirmed in a statement Tuesday.

“A revised order would shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travelers to one day before departure to the United States,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“This strengthens already robust protocols in place for international travel, including requirements for foreign travelers to be fully vaccinated.” 

The CDC currently requires fully vaccinated travelers to be tested three days before their flight’s departure from a foreign country.

The CDC continues to recommend, but not require, that travelers get tested three to five days upon return and those who are unvaccinated should quarantine. The CDC did not offer a timeline for when any updated protocols could go into place.  

Officials across multiple government agencies huddled Tuesday night to discuss the potential changes, CNN reported earlier.

China’s Inner Mongolian border city of Manzhouli confirmed 72 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, according to local health officials. 

The Health Commission of Inner Mongolia said 62 of the new infections were found in mandated citywide testing.

Manzhouli launched three rounds of mass testing in the past three days for its 300,000 residents, according to the municipal government. Another 19 locally transmitted cases were confirmed in Zhalainuo’er district, which is on the Russian border. 

The district now has five medium-risk areas, the Manzhouli municipal government said. The recent outbreak started on November 27 when three asymptomatic cases were identified in Manzhouli. 

The city has so far confirmed 98 locally transmitted cases while Zhalainuo’er has confirmed 32 infections, according to a CNN tally. 

Hong Kong is adding Japan, Portugal and Sweden to its highest-risk travel category over concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant. 

Beginning Friday, the countries will be designated into Group A, according to a government news release Wednesday.

All non-Hong Kong residents who have visited Category A countries in the past 21 days are banned from entering the city, while Hong Kong residents traveling from those countries must be fully vaccinated and undergo 21 days of quarantine. They will be tested six times during their stay — and must take an additional test 26 days after their arrival.

Hong Kong’s government, which is committed to a zero-Covid approach, said all places that have detected Omicron cases will be shifted to Group A.

South Korea recorded 5,123 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, a record single-day figure, according to a news release from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

KDCA said 5,075 of the new infections were locally transmitted, with 4,110 detected in the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

The country also reported 34 additional fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 3,658, according to KDCA. Some 723 patients are in critical condition, KDCA added.

South Korea has now reported a total of 452,350 cases.

As of Wednesday, 82.9% of the population had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 79.9% had been fully vaccinated, KDCA said.

Suspected Omicron cases: South Korea is investigating at least two suspected cases of the Omicron variant, with results due on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Health Ministry and KDCA will form a task force along with related ministries to respond to the Omicron variant.

A new study looking closely at the same group of people over time shows that natural coronavirus infection can protect people from infection with new variants — but it doesn’t offer enough protection to prevent new waves of infection across a population.

The ongoing study of more than 2,000 volunteers in Nicaragua shows people infected in the first waves of Covid-19 were protected against severe disease when the Gamma and Delta variants swept through later. 

The researchers, led by epidemiologist Aubree Gordon and colleagues at the University of Michigan, also said they identified what are known as correlates of protection — the measurements needed to know whether someone is likely to have immunity against another infection.

“While second infections were somewhat less severe, they were not as mild as ideal. A strategy involving vaccination will be needed to ease the burden of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic,” the team wrote in their report, posted on the pre-print server medRxiv. While the work has been submitted to a medical journal, it has not yet been peer-reviewed or published.

The team has been regularly testing the volunteers for flu for several years and added coronavirus when the pandemic started. By March of this year, more than 62% of them had been infected at least once.

“After March 2021, Gamma and Delta variants predominated,” the team wrote.

People who had antibodies against coronavirus were 69% less likely to get infected a second time and the higher their levels of antibodies directed against the virus’ spike protein, the less likely they were to become infected again. This measurement is known as a correlate of protection.

“Such an immune correlate of protection would inform vaccine policy, allow more rapid development of vaccines, and could guide targeting of at-risk populations for vaccination — including when and how often to boost,” Gordon’s team added.  

The team did not test the effects of vaccination for this report but will be testing that in future research, Gordon told CNN.

There are “indications” that people who received a coronavirus vaccine booster are “protected” against the Omicron variant, Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Tuesday.

“In the coming days we will have more accurate information about the efficacy of the vaccine against Omicron, but there is already room for optimism, and there are initial indications that those who are vaccinated with a vaccine still valid or with a booster will also be protected from this variant,” Horowitz said at a news conference.

Boosters have been available in Israel to anyone over age 16 since late August, five months after their second dose of the vaccine. A person is not considered fully vaccinated in the country until they have received a third dose, once they are eligible for it.

Top US government officials are considering requiring everyone who enters the United States to be tested for Covid-19 the day before their flight and having all travelers — including US citizens and permanent residents — be tested again after returning home, regardless of vaccination status, sources familiar with the thinking have told CNN.

Officials were deliberating Tuesday night and no final decisions have been made, but an announcement could come as soon as this week. Currently, travelers are required to test three days before their departures. The move under consideration would shorten that timeline to one day.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters earlier Tuesday the CDC was “evaluating how to make international travel as safe as possible, including pre-departure testing closer to the time of flight and considerations around additional post-arrival testing and self-quarantines.”

On Monday, the US banned all travel from South Africa and seven neighboring nations, with the exception of US citizens and legal permanent residents, who must test negative to enter the US but not once they have arrived.

Read more:

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Covid-19 response and the vaccination program at the White House on August 23, 2021 in Washington,DC.

Related article Biden administration considering requiring stricter coronavirus testing for everyone traveling to US

President Biden said on Tuesday that travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa “kind of depends” on the Omicron coronavirus variant, also suggesting he won’t “shock allies” like former President Donald Trump did when he barred travel from Europe earlier in the pandemic.  

Asked if he’s considering any new vaccine requirements or efforts to get more Americans vaccinated, Biden told reporters on a tarmac in Minnesota, “I’ll be talking about that on Thursday.” 

The President also said that it “kind of depends” how long travel restrictions on Southern Africa will remain in place.  

“Well, it kind of depends. It’s going week-to-week, to determine what we need and the what the state of affairs (is). We’re going to learn a lot more in the next couple of weeks about the lethality of this virus, about how much it spreads, about whether what we have can control it, etc.,” Biden said. 

When asked about travel restrictions, given that former President Trump’s 2020 decision to bar travel from Europe shocked allies, Biden remarked, “Unlike Trump, I don’t shock our allies.” 

Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 13-10 Tuesday to recommend emergency use authorization of a pill made by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to help treat Covid-19.

Members of the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee were split in their vote to recommend molnupiravir, which can reduce the risk someone will progress to severe disease or death by about 30%.

The pills must be taken within five days of symptoms starting to do much good, and people must take pills twice a day for five days. Members of the committee were worried about risks to pregnant women.

Molnupiravir is not the only antiviral scientists are developing against Covid-19. Pfizer applied for authorization of its antiviral pill this month. The FDA has not yet set a date for its advisory panel to review that drug.

Next, the FDA will consider the committee’s recommendation. It doesn’t have to follow the committee’s advice, but often does.

Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, is an antiviral approved to treat Covid-19 but it’s infused, not given as a pill.

Alberta’s top doctor confirmed Canada’s sixth case of the new coronavirus variant Omicron. 

In addition, federal health officials say they will expand the travel ban on foreign travelers from countries in Africa to include Nigeria, where most of Canada’s cases have been linked.

Some background: Earlier today, Canada confirmed five cases of the Omicron variant and health officials in several provinces say they continue to investigate dozens of other suspected cases across the country.

Four of the cases have been confirmed in Ottawa and a fifth case was been identified in the province of Quebec.

Quebec’s health minister, Christian Dubé, speaking at a news conference Monday said more than a hundred travelers from southern African countries were asked to take a new Covid-19 test and isolate. 

US stocks tumbled Tuesday as renewed concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19 weighed on sentiment.

Comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell didn’t help. Powell told Congress that the Fed no longer thought inflation was “transitory,” and he hinted that the Fed could accelerate its plans to cut back on, or taper, bond purchases. 

Here’s how stocks closed the trading day:

Note: As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.

The Brazilian health agency, Anvisa, said on Tuesday that two Brazilians had tested positive for the new Omicron coronavirus variant. 

This marks the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Latin America and makes Brazil the 20th country to report the new variant.

A passenger, who had flown in from South Africa on the 23rd with a negative Covid-19 test result, did a new test along with his wife to prepare for a return flight back to South Africa when the results came back positive. 

“The Agency emphasizes that the passenger’s entry into Brazil took place on 11/23, that is, before the worldwide notification on the identification of the new variant,” Anvisa added.

Brazil has since suspended flights from South Africa.

The samples are being sent to another laboratory for confirmatory analysis, Anvisa said. 

It’s too soon to know if the Omicron variant of coronavirus causes less severe disease than the Delta variant – in spite of reports that many cases so far have been mild, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

Most cases of Covid-19 overall are mild, and especially among younger patients. But nonetheless the virus can and does cause severe disease as it spreads among populations and has killed 5.2 million people globally and more than 779,000 in the US alone, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted that some South African physicians have reported the patients they treated had mild disease. But they were treating young people, Fauci said.

“Dr. Walensky and I specifically asked our South African colleagues that on the most recent Zoom call that we had, and they agreed with us that it’s too early to tell. They’re hoping that it is going to, across the board, give a lower level of severity, but they don’t know that right now,” he added.

In the meantime, vaccination and boosters should protect people, Fauci said. Boosters, especially, can bring antibody levels up to where there is a cushion of extra protection that can cover even variants of the virus.

“And that’s usually most manifested in protection against severe disease that leads to hospitalization,” Fauci said.

“So when we say that although these mutations suggest a diminution of protection and a degree of immune evasion, still from the experience that we have with Delta (you) can make a reasonable conclusion that you would not eliminate all protection against this particular variant,” he said.

“And that’s the reason why we don’t know what that degree of diminution of protection is going to be. But we know that when you boost somebody, you elevate your level of protection very high. And we are hoping, and I think with good reason, to feel good that there will be some degree of protection. Therefore, as we said, if you’re unvaccinated get vaccinated, and if you’re vaccinated, get boosted,” he added.

Tests to look for whether the Omicron variant of coronavirus is more dangerous than Delta will take two weeks or so, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.

Fauci said researchers will test the virus in the laboratory and also look at what it does in real life to see whether the highly mutated strain is more transmissible, more likely to evade the effects of vaccine or treatments, and whether it can cause more severe disease. 

Lab tests take time, Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a White House Covd-19 briefing.

“Well, one of the things you do is you get the virus and you grow it or you put it into a modified form called a pseudovirus. And when you do that, you can then get convalescent plasma, monoclonal antibodies, as well as sera and antibodies that are induced by the vaccine to see if they neutralize the virus,” he said.

Labs are already taking blood from people who have been vaccinated, as well as from people who have recovered from infection – that’s the convalescent sera – to see what happens when it’s exposed to the new variant.

“That will give you a pretty good idea as to what the level of immune evasion is,” he said.

The blood serum contains the antibodies as well as cells called B cells and T cells that fight infections.

“That process will take likely two weeks or more, perhaps even sooner, depending upon how well the virus grows in the isolates that we get. That’s the first thing,” Fauci said.

“And in those countries in which there are a lot of cases, like South Africa, the computational biologists and the evolutionary biologists are going to be getting a good feel as to what the competition of this virus would be with Delta. Those are just a few of the things that will take a couple of weeks to a few weeks to learn,” he added.

Coronavirus sequencing efforts in the United States grew in the past year – well before the emergence of the Omicron variant – with public health labs sequencing four times as many specimens now than a year ago, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

Sequencing samples of coronavirus helps scientists to identify emerging variants.

Currently, there are about 68 state and local public health laboratories sequencing for coronavirus variants as part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national strain surveillance network, Scott Becker, APHL’s chief executive officer, told reporters during a virtual news briefing Tuesday. 

These labs “are sequencing between 15,000 and 20,000 specimens per week. That number is four times greater than just a year ago. In November of 2021 alone, 190,000 specimens were sequenced by the entire public health system, which includes public health labs, CDC, and CDC-contracted labs,” Becker said in the briefing.  

“Nationally between 5% and 10% of all diagnostic specimens are sequenced and come from public health laboratories, commercial laboratories, CDC-contract labs, academic labs, and other partners,” Becker added.

He said they have not found the Omicron variant in the US yet, “but we fully expect that we will,” Becker said.

“Our system can detect variants down to 0.1% of circulating viruses, so we’re confident that it can be found,” he added.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding surveillance at four major international airports to keep an eye out for the Omicron variant of coronavirus in travelers, the agency’s director said Tuesday.

The airports include two in the New York City area, plus ones in Atlanta and San Francisco.

“CDC is evaluating how to make international travel as safe as possible, including critical partner testing closer to the time of flights and considerations around additional post arrival testing and self-quarantine,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told a White House Covid-19 briefing.

“Currently CDC is expanding a surveillance program with XpresCheck to JFK, San Francisco, Newark and Atlanta airports – four of the busiest international airports in the country. This program allows for increased Covid testing for specific international arrivals, increasing our capacity to identify those with Covid-19 on arrival to the United States and enhancing our surveillance for the Omicron variant,” Walensky added. 

“Thanks to our updated travel policies earlier this month, we are also actively working with the airlines to collect passenger information that can be used by CDC and local public health jurisdictions to enhance contact tracing and post-arrival follow-up should a case be identified in a traveler.” 

CDC is also keeping in close touch with state and local health officials, she said.

“As we have done throughout the pandemic, we are holding regular, even daily calls, with local county and state health officials and our public health partners. These calls include state, county and city health officials, state epidemiologists, laboratory directors and partners from public health organizations. And we are conveying the knowledge we have to these partners and we are relying on their local expertise to provide information,” Walensky said.

“We have worked to address that spread of infection for travel during travel through nesting vaccination and pre departure testing for international passengers. And we are continuously working closely with our public health partners, both here in America and around the world,” she continued.

Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday to levels unseen since late August on worries that Omicron will dent previously robust demand for energy. 

US crude dropped nearly 7% to $65.30 a barrel in afternoon trading. At session lows, oil fell below $65 a barrel for the first time in three months. 

The selloff leaves oil down by a staggering 23% in just the past three weeks. As recently as November 10, crude was flirting with $85 a barrel.

The reversal was at first driven by an expectation that the United States and other countries would tap strategic oil reserves to cool off red-hot prices. 

But more recently, oil is losing steam on fears the new coronavirus variant will hurt oil demand by causing fewer people to drive, fly and commute. Crude plunged by 13% on Friday, its worst day since April 2020, and only posted a modest rebound on Monday. 

You can follow live updates on how the markets are reacting to the Omicron variant here.

The Omicron variant of coronavirus has been found in 20 countries so far but not the US yet, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden and director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday.

“Confirmed cases as of yesterday was 205 in 18 countries and just this morning, that’s gone up to 226 in 20 countries, and I think you’re going to expect to see those numbers change rapidly. Importantly it has not yet been detected in the United States,” Fauci told a White House briefing on the pandemic.

Fauci said Omicron looks very different from the now-dominant Delta variant.

“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. It’s something different. And these mutations have been associated with increased transmissibility and immune evasion, whereas other of the mutations have not yet been characterized as to their functional capability,” he said.

“Obviously, when you look at the molecular configuration of those particular variants, it suggests strongly that there’s increased transmission compared with the original pandemic virus, but it is difficult to infer what the relationship between this transmissibility is and Delta. Although you can suggest it might be more, we do not know until we see the dynamics of how this evolves,” he added.

Fauci said while the variant carries many mutations, vaccines are likely to protect people against severe disease at the least, even if the variant doesn’t stimulate the immune system in the same way as older variants do.

“What about vaccine effectiveness? Now obviously, significant reductions in the neutralizing titers are possible. And we say that because the mutations suggest immune evasion. But remember, as with other variants, although partial immune escape may occur, vaccines, and particularly boosters, give a level of antibody that even with variants like Delta give you a degree of protection, particularly against severe disease. So there’s every reason to believe as we talk about boosters, when you get a level high enough that you are going to get at least some degree of cross protection, particularly against severe disease,” he said.

Fauci continued: “And what about disease severity? Again, these are estimates and with a small number of cases, it is very difficult to know whether or not this particular variant is going to result in severe disease. Although some preliminary information from South Africa suggests no unusual symptoms associated with the variant, we do not know and it is too early to tell.”

Italian authorities have confirmed an additional five cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the southwestern Campania region.

The new cases are all traceable back to the first case identified in Italy on Saturday, Campania region President Vincenzo De Luca said Tuesday.

“Three of them were in the same class at school of patient zero’s children, one is school personnel and another is a caregiver who works for the family,” De Luca said.

Patient zero had recently arrived in Italy from Mozambique. His wife and two children tested positive on Monday. 

Italy now has a total of nine reported cases of the variant.

The Biden administration is working with vaccine manufacturers in the event further vaccine modifications are needed as scientists learn more about the Omicron variant of Covid-19, White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said Tuesday. 

“We believe the current vaccines provided at least some protection against this variant and that boosters strengthen that protection significantly. In the event that additional measures are needed, we will be prepared. We’re working with Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J to develop contingency plans for modifications to vaccines or boosters if they’re needed,” Zients said.

Zients also confirmed that the US Food and Drug Administration believes that “the high-volume PCR and rapid antigen tests widely used in the US will be effective in detecting the variant.”

Those comments come after Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday that PCR tests and some rapid antigen tests, but maybe not all antigen tests, would be able to detect the variant.

Zients continued to urge adults to receive their booster shots, key to the administration’s current strategy of protecting Americans from the emerging variant. 

“More than 100 million adults are now eligible for a booster shot, but have not yet gotten one. We’re working with governors, pharmacies, community health centers, and other partners to get these eligible individuals their booster shots. Our message is simple: If you were fully vaccinated before June, go get a booster shot today. Getting boosted will give you the highest level of protection from Covid and this new variant. If you’re unvaccinated or if your children are unvaccinated, the best thing you can do is get yourself and your kids their shots,” Zients said, adding that the administration’s progress on vaccinations “puts us in a much stronger position to face Omicron.” 

The administration, Zients added, is planning for how to support the manufacturers through the process, if needed, and how to “rapidly get shots in arms.”

“And we know how to do that, given the experience we’ve had in the last year,” Zients said, adding that the administration would deploy federal pharmacy programs, set up mass vaccination sites, and go to community health centers and clinics. 

“All that type of planning is part of our contingency planning so we could get shots in arms efficiently and effectively,” he said. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to offer Covid-19 booster shots to everyone eligible by the end of January, amid fears over rising cases of the Omicron variant. In order to reach this target, Johnson pledged to double efforts to expand the booster rollout, including recruiting military personnel to administer more jabs. 

“We’re going to be throwing everything at it in order to ensure that everyone eligible is offered that booster in, as I say, just over two months,” Johnson said. 

“There’ll be temporary vaccination centres popping up like Christmas trees and we’ll deploy at least 400 military personnel to assist the efforts of our NHS, alongside of course the fantastic jabs army of volunteers,” Johnson added. 

Johnson acknowledged a sense of “frustration” that may be lingering with the new variant, however he reassured that, despite the feeling that “we could be going through all this all over again,” the country is “measurably better than it was a year ago.”

“What we’re doing is taking some proportionate precautionary measures while our scientists crack the Omicron code,” Johnson said. 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said 18 million booster doses have been delivered across the UK and added that Britain’s booster program is “going on steroids.” He urged people to get vaccinated to “give ourselves the best chance of a Christmas with our loved ones.” 

Once the Omicron coronavirus variant is identified in the United States, news of that detection will likely come from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday.

“Given the surveillance system that the CDC has going right now, we should pick it up when it comes here. It might already be here, certainly not in large amounts, but it may already be here, and you’re going to hear about that. The CDC will make the announcement that that’s the case,” Fauci told MSNBC’s Craig Melvin on Tuesday. 

“As soon as they get the information, they will be very transparent about it,” he continued.

There is no way the Omicron coronavirus variant can be absolutely prevented from spreading to the United States, but travel restrictions can help “buy time,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday.

“You’re not going to absolutely, no way, you’re going to prevent it from ultimately coming to this country. But what you can do is you could lessen the bolus of people who might actually be infected from coming in. That might buy you a couple of weeks of being able to prepare better, if and when you do have a situation which is much more when than if,” Fauci told MSNBC’s Craig Melvin on Tuesday.

“So, it gives you a little bit of time to try and prepare yourself, to get your diagnostics all set,” Fauci said. “But also, to get people to get vaccinated, and those who are vaccinated to get boosted.”

A further eight cases of the coronavirus Omicron variant have been identified in England, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 22, a spokesperson for the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told CNN Tuesday. 

“The individuals that have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. Work is underway to identify any links to travel to Southern Africa,” the spokesperson said in a written statement to CNN. 

“We have now identified cases in the East Midlands, East of England, London and North West. UKHSA is carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive cases were likely to be infectious,” the statement added. 

Nine cases have also been identified in Scotland – five in the Lanarkshire area and four in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, the UKHSA said. 

UKHSA Chief Executive, Dr. Jenny Harries, 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,” Harries added. 

Earlier on Tuesday it was confirmed that a UK university student was among the eight people in England with the variant.

A University of Nottingham spokesperson told CNN Tuesday: “Whilst we do not ordinarily comment on individual cases, we can confirm that a student is among the increasing number of people reporting cases of the Omicron variant nationwide.” 

“The student has been off campus and self-isolating throughout the period of infection. We are supporting them in liaison with the public health authorities and wish them a speedy recovery,” the spokesperson added. 

France recorded 47,000 daily cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday – the highest number since spring, according to French Health Minister Olivier Véran.

Data shows it’s the first time since April that Covid-19 cases in the country surpassed 43,000 infections in 24 hours. At least 43,698 infections were recorded on April 20 this year.

The fifth wave of the pandemic has hit France hard despite the country having one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe. At least 75.4% of the total population are fully inoculated against the virus, according to government data. 

France has not resorted to restrictive policies such as lockdown or curfews to battle the new wave but has strengthened current rules already in place, including a ‘health pass’ and mask mandates.

Denmark has confirmed an additional two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, bringing the total for the country to four, the Danish State Serum Institute announced on Tuesday. 

All four confirmed cases are connected to travel activity in South Africa, according to the institute. 

Denmark confirmed its first two cases of the Omicron variant on Sunday. 

The US Food and Drug Administration is working “as quickly as possible” to find out more about the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to Dr. Janet Woodcock, the agency’s acting commissioner. Woodcock also encouraged Americans to get vaccine and booster shots as soon as possible.

Read the whole statement here:

“As we have with previous emerging COVID-19 variants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is actively working with our federal partners, international regulators and medical product companies to quickly address any potential impacts of the new omicron variant on the tools to fight the pandemic. 
The agency is working as quickly as possible to evaluate the potential impact of this variant on the currently available diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. We are closely monitoring the situation and are committed to communicating with the public as we learn more. 
Historically, the work to obtain the genetic information and patient samples for variants and then perform the testing needed to evaluate their impact takes time. However, we expect the vast majority of this work to be completed in the coming weeks.
The FDA has been actively monitoring for the possible emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants since early in the pandemic and has worked with medical product developers when a new variant (or mutation) emerges that could impact product performance. 
With industry guidance laid out in February and contingency plans already in place, we are well-positioned and committed to working with companies to evaluate and expeditiously address the potential impact of emerging and future viral mutations on COVID-19 tests, therapeutics and vaccines.
We’ve taken a number of steps to adapt to emerging variants thus far in the pandemic, such as requiring companies to actively monitor for and evaluate the impact of variants on their products as a condition of authorization, and quickly taking appropriate action.
The agency has previously limited the scope of use of certain monoclonal antibodies depending on variants circulating in certain areas, updated fact sheets for health care providers with information about how known variants impact certain therapeutics, and communicated with the public about tests affected by viral mutations. 
We anticipate having more information from the ongoing evaluation regarding if and how well the current vaccines work against this variant in the next few weeks. If a modification to the current vaccines is needed, the FDA and companies will work together to develop and test such a modification quickly.
On preliminary review, we believe high-volume polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigen (rapid) tests widely used in the U.S. show low likelihood of being impacted and continue to work. However, the FDA will continue to closely review and adjust course as needed.
The FDA is committed to continuing to use every tool in our toolbox to fight this pandemic, including pivoting as the virus adapts, to arm ourselves with the best available diagnostics, and life-saving therapeutics and vaccines to fight this virus.
At this time, the current vaccines remain highly effective at preventing COVID-19 and serious clinical outcomes associated with a COVID-19 infection, including hospitalization and death. Additionally, currently available data from our international partners and vaccine manufacturers that has been evaluated by the FDA, suggests that an additional booster shot following the completion of a primary vaccination (six months for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and two months for Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) provides further protection against a COVID-19 infection.
Getting vaccinated or receiving a booster with one of the currently available vaccines is the best thing that you can do right now (in addition to standard precautions like wearing a mask) to help protect yourself, your family and friends.”

Sweden has confirmed an additional two cases of the  Omicron coronavirus variant, bringing the total for the country to three, the Swedish Publish Health Agency announced on Tuesday. 

The two new cases were found in the Stockholm area in people who were tested after returning from South Africa, the agency said. 

Sweden confirmed its first case on Monday. 

The Omicron variant is on everyone’s mind, but US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen echoed President Biden in saying that we simply didn’t know enough about it yet.

“We’re still waiting for more data but what remains true is that our best protection against the virus is the vaccine,” Yellen said in her opening remarks at a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, DC. “People should get vaccinated or boosted.”

Even so, Yellen believes that the recovery is still in a good place, particularly when comparing it to last winter, when things weren’t looking so good.

She also stressed again that Congress needed to expand the US debt limit to ensure that the recovery can continue.

Canada has now confirmed 5 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant and health officials in several provinces say they continue to investigate dozens of other suspected cases across the country. 

Four of the five cases have been confirmed in Ottawa and all are linked to recent travel to Nigeria.

On Monday, Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, confirmed two more cases were identified in addition to the prior two cases announced on Sunday and she indicated that no one is currently hospitalized.

“The individuals, all 4, are self-isolating,” she said in a statement during a local health board meeting adding that any international travel at this time could potentially expose people to the new variant given where and when cases have been detected.

Canada’s health minister said in a statement Sunday that “it is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada”.

The fifth case of the variant has been identified in the province of Quebec, also linked to travel from Nigeria.

Quebec’s health minister, Christian Dubé, speaking at a news conference Monday said more than a hundred travelers from southern African countries were asked to take a new Covid-19 test and isolate.

However, Dube also suggested that Nigeria should possibly be added to the list of countries currently included in a travel ban to Canada. He said he had spoken of the issue with Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s health minister.

“They need to take very quick decisions on additional countries and if this is not enough, depending on how the epidemiology accelerates, should we have additional measures like PCR (testing) at airports to make sure that we are restrictive on any countries,” said Dube.

More on this: The Hong Kong government banned entry to travelers from Canada Tuesday after a Canadian man arrived from Vancouver and later tested positive for the Omicron variant.

Canada’s border restrictions with the US meantime are set to ease Tuesday with fully vaccinated, cross-border travelers allowed to reenter Canada without providing a negative Covid-19 test, provided they are gone for less than 72 hours.

But other measures related to air travel were tightened Tuesday with air and rail passengers both internationally and domestically needing to provide proof vaccination in order to travel.  

Admiral Dr. Brett Giroir, former assistant secretary of US Health and Human Services and the testing czar for Covid-19 during the Trump administration, told CNN he agreed with President Biden’s message that people should be concerned about the Omicron variant, but they should not panic. 

“I do agree with that tone and that message,” Giroir said, when asked about Biden’s remarks. “We should be concerned … but we should not panic.” 

“Our testing still works perfectly. It is very likely that our vaccines will provide some immune protection, and I agree it’s very important to top off your tank, top off your immune tank, by getting that booster. Independent of Omicron, it’s very important to get it just for Delta,” he said.  

Asked about what is being seen early on in terms of what is known about Omicron, Giroir said, “we have no evidence that Omicron is more severe.” 

Referencing comments from Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a doctor who has treated patients with Omicron, who said on CNN’s “New Day” Tuesday that the majority of cases being seen are mild to moderate, Giroir said that he would love to believe it — but it’s important to remember that patients treated were generally young.

“We really don’t know how Omicron is going to affect the elderly or those who have chronic conditions,” he said. “So we have no evidence that it’s worse, but I don’t want people to assume that it’s just mild and we can blow this off.” 

Giroir also said that the variant is “likely here already. We don’t see it taking over, it doesn’t mean that it won’t, but, you know, we just need to remain calm.” 

He reiterated that there are things that can be done, including getting vaccinated and boosted, getting home tests, making sure the elderly are protected and wear masks when appropriate.

Giroir added that there are new oral antiviral medications that “will be completely effective against Omicron, as they are against the others.” One antiviral, from Merck, is being considered by US Food and Drug Administration advisers on Tuesday.

The oral antiviral medicines are “very important, powerful tools that will work against Omicron, Delta and all the other variants,” he said. 

Giroir also said the US “absolutely” needs more testing. He said that testing “plummeted” in the middle of summer “and there was a lull in the production of antigen tests,” although he thinks that the administration is trying to reverse that. 

One thing that people can do, he said, aside from getting a booster shot is to get home tests. 

“I literally just went to Walmart yesterday and picked up two boxes of home tests, just to be prepared and for my family to be prepared,” he said. “Everyone should be able to do that. And I think the federal government should send home tests to all those who are underserved or an at risk community so they can test themselves.”

It is “overwhelmingly likely” that booster shots will provide additional protection against the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 

Speaking to UK media during a visit to a vaccination center in London on Tuesday, Johnson said that while there are doubts “about what exactly that variant can do,” it is “overwhelmingly likely” that boosters will provide protection against it. 

The UK will have to make “another great surge in vaccinations like it did earlier in the year,” Johnson emphasized, calling on all eligible to come forward for their booster jabs. 

The new measures in England mandating the use of masks in shops, on public transportation and in other indoor settings and the return of PCR tests for returning travelers are the “right approach” to “delay the seeding of Omicron in the country,” according to Johnson. 

Aside from these measures, the UK government doesn’t see any need right now to change the overall guidance about how people should be living their lives, Johnson said.

Johnson is set to hold a news conference at 11:00 a.m. ET from Downing Street alongside UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid and National Health Service Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard. 

US stocks opened lower on Tuesday, rattled by renewed worries about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. 

Investors fear that the variant could evade some immunity provided by vaccines and antibodies, sending the global economy back into trouble. Market participants will also be watching Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday morning.

Here’s how things looked at the opening:

Spain became the latest country to announce “flight restrictions” from southern African nations over the Omicron coronavirus variant, the government’s chief spokeswoman, Isabel Rodríguez, said at a news conference in Madrid Tuesday. 

On Monday, Spain had announced that passengers from seven African countries – South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique – would have to quarantine for 10 days. The restrictions announced today go one step further, banning flights from the seven African nations, with some exceptions for flights repatriating citizens or residents.

“These are preventative measures,” Rodríguez said. 

The flight restrictions will be in effect from Dec. 2 until Dec.15, Rodríguez added.

Spain on Monday also confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant, in “a 51-year-old man who returned from South Africa on Nov. 28, with a layover in Amsterdam,” a Madrid regional government statement said. 

Spain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias said in a SER radio interview Tuesday that authorities were awaiting test results on a couple who arrived at Barcelona’s airport on Monday, to determine if they have the Omicron variant, or not. 

CNN’s Claudia Rebaza, Mia Alberti and Pau Mosquera contributed reporting to this post.

Do you have a question about the new Omicron variant, the vaccines’ efficacy against it, and its impact on controlling the pandemic?

Submit a question for a CNN Town Hall featuring several medical experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden, and tune in for answers during the event tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET.

Xolisa Mabhongo, the deputy permanent representative of South Africa to the United Nations, echoed sentiments that the travel ban placed on the country by multiple nations over the Omicron variant is not fair.

“We feel that the travel ban is very unfair,” Mabhongo said to CNN’s Briana Keilar on “New Day” Tuesday morning. “South African science should be commended for discovering this new variant and sharing the information with the world.”

Mabhongo also stressed the importance of vaccine equity in all countries in order to “see the end of Covid.”

“As long as the world operates on this trajectory on vaccine inequality, we will not see the end of Covid,” he said. “We think it is not wise to continue in this route, we think vaccines should be shared by all countries.”

“At this moment, less than 10% of the African population as a whole has been vaccinated, but we know that in other countries the rate is over 80%. So, this is indeed very unfair, and we have been urging countries to reverse it,” he said.

When asked for his reaction to President Biden’s comments that the US has provided “significant” vaccines to South Africa and the region, and that their issue is reluctance rather than doses, he said he “doesn’t see this significant hesitancy that some people are talking about.”

“Now again, like in all countries, it is possible, that you know, you will have some small minority of people who are hesitant against vaccines,” he continued. “We do need more vaccines for sure, that is not a question. We need more vaccines in South Africa, in southern African and in the rest of the African continent.”

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins recommended that people wear masks until the severity of Omicron is known, due to the Delta variant.

Collins explained why he wears his mask indoors with other people:

“I wear my mask if I’m indoors with other people; I don’t always know whether they’re all vaccinated or not. That’s just good practice. I know we’re all tired of this, but the virus is not tired of us and it’s continuing to exploit those opportunities where we’re careless.”

Collins said scientists are working quickly to research the severity of Omicron and how contagious it actually is, adding, “much credit to our colleagues in South Africa who have been totally transparent about this.”

“It does look like it’s spreading quite quickly there, but we don’t know how that would play out in a country like ours where Delta is already so dominant. Would Omicron be able to compete with Delta? We don’t know the answer to that,” he said.

It will take a few weeks to determine how effective current vaccines will be against the new variant, he said.

Restrictions on travel because of the Omicron variant were an “overreaction,” according to Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and one of the doctors treating patients with the Omicron variant.

“I think it was an overreaction,” she said on CNN’s “New Day” when asked about her assessment of the global reaction to the variant. “I do understand that there’s a lot of mutation in this virus. I do understand that it might be much more fast spreading than the Delta variant.” 

She said it was important to get input from scientists, “but while the scientists wait and are busy doing their work in the background, unfortunately, the patients [don’t] wait, the patients comes in. And you need to alert your doctors and say listen, there’s something happening, there’s something going on, look at it, see what you can do.” 

“Telling the world there’s something out there and then being slammed by getting these — we call it the knee-jerk reaction — of closing borders and everyone, and people say ‘yes, but I’m trying to protect my people,’ so then the question would be how do you know it’s not in your country yet? How do you know that a lot of those infections that you are currently seeing that [are] severe, how do you know it’s not maybe related to the Omicron? How do you know?” Coetzee said. 

She also said that if doctors aren’t aware of the variant, they might not think patients have the variant and might not test them. 

“I think if for South Africa to spread the message out there and then being slammed, that doesn’t make sense,” she said. “Of course it’s other people’s lives as well, you know. It’s a huge impact, it’s a huge impact on the economy of South Africa, it’s a huge impact to the people that want to come and visit family, it’s a huge impact on South Africans that want to go and visit family and friends during the festive season. I just think, you know, there’s other ways to do this.” 

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and one of the doctors treating some patients with the Omicron variant, told CNN that the majority of cases of the variant that she has seen have been mild. 

Coetzee pointed out that it’s still very early days for the Omicron variant, and that, in the beginning, it’s typically not that severe, as younger people get infected and then it spreads further.

“The majority of what we are presenting to primary health care practitioners are extremely mild cases, so mild to moderate. And so, these patients, it means they don’t need to be hospitalized for now,” she said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“We try to get the message out there to the world to say listen, we’re not saying this is not going to be a disease going forward that’s going to cause severe disease; it will cause severe disease, but if this disease can cause to more than the majority of people mild symptoms, easily treatable at home, no need for admission, that’s a first prize.”

She said that they want to share the symptoms with people so they can understand that if they feel fatigued for a day or two, have a bit of a scratchy throat and body aches and pain — “we call it normally malaise, so I don’t feel generally well,” she said — that they should go and see their doctor. Doctors also need to test patients who come in with those symptoms. 

“If we can get that message out to the world, it means that we would most probably going forward have less severe cases, less people going too late to the doctors,” she said. “No system can afford that, not South Africa, not the United States. No one can afford that.” 

Asked if she had seen vaccinated people who contracted the Omicron variant, Coetzee said, “I have seen vaccinated people, and not really very sick. That might change going forward, as we say this is early days, and this is maybe what makes us hopeful.” 

Two doctors working in Tel Aviv have been diagnosed with the Omicron variant, the Sheba Medical Center confirmed Tuesday, including the first known case of community spread of the variant in Israel. Both men had been vaccinated three times.

According to the hospital, a doctor in his 50s tested positive several days after returning from a conference in London.

The doctor’s PCR tests before leaving Britain and on arrival back in Israel had produced negative results, so the man returned to work where he infected another doctor, a man in his 70s, the hospital says.

The pair are now resting at home with only very mild symptoms. All those who were in contact with the two men have been tested, with no positive results so far.

It brings the number of confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Israel to four.

The first case was discovered in a person returning from Malawi. Details of the second case have not been made public, but Israeli media reports say it was found in a person returning from South Africa.

Vaccines developed to target the new Omicron coronavirus variant could be approved in three to four months if needed, the chief of the European Union’s drug regulator said on Tuesday. 

Although vaccines so far had proven “effective against the circulating variants,” there is a need to “understand whether or not this will be the case” with Omicron, Emer Cooke, Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), told the European Parliament.

A two-week laboratory testing process must first take place to establish whether the current crop of vaccines provide protection against Omicron, Cooke said.  

Health officials will also have to consider how the European situation compares to that of South Africa, Cooke said, pointing to the EU’s older population, higher vaccine uptake and booster rollout as key factors. 

If there is a need to change the current vaccines, companies will then have to adapt their formulations to include the new sequencing, Cooke said. She added that the EMA is working with drug companies and other regulators to ensure they are “as prepared and ready as possible” .

Cooke also stressed “that the current vaccines provide protection.”

She also reinforced the importance of pushing forward with the booster rollout across the bloc so that those eligible for the additional protection receive it. 

The Omicron variant was present in The Netherlands as early as Nov. 19, a week earlier than previously known, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said Tuesday.

That’s a week before last Friday — when 14 passengers on two flights from South Africa tested positive for the Omicron variant after arrival in the Netherlands.

The variant was confirmed in two test samples taken on Nov. 19 and Nov. 23, RIVM said.

“It is not yet clear whether these people had also visited southern Africa,” the statement added. “The GGD [Municipal Public Health Service] will notify the people involved and start source and contact tracing.”

The two newly discovered cases takes the total number of confirmed Omicron infections in the Netherlands to 16, an RIVM spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

Earlier this month, Austria took a step once unthinkable for a Western democracy: It announced that Covid-19 vaccinations would become compulsory for its entire population.

Up until then, governments around the world had rejected the idea of a universal coronavirus vaccine mandate, opting instead for incentives and other “nudges” to motivate people to get shots. Even in authoritarian states, like China, it is not mandatory policy.

Austria’s extraordinary move came just days after it introduced a lockdown for the unvaccinated – a restriction that went farther than other European nations in singling out the people who have been driving a worrying surge in hospitalizations.

The series of decisions leading Austria to this point reflects the desperate position governments find themselves in as they look to protect public health systems and tentative economic recoveries as cases soar across Europe. The continent is once again ground zero for the global pandemic, despite the widespread availability of vaccines.

It is that irony that has drawn the ire of Europe’s leaders, who are growing increasingly frustrated by vaccine skeptics and other pockets of the population still resisting Covid-19 vaccination programs.

Austria’s tough new measures were unveiled before the announcement of the discovery of the Omicron variant late last week, which triggered fears that the winter Covid-19 wave could be more brutal than previously thought. The news of the variant could push more countries to harden their approach, pivoting from voluntary to mandatory measures in a last-ditch effort to get shots in arms.

In explaining Austria’s decision, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg pointed to the successes of Italy and France, which have introduced vaccine mandates in all but name — requiring health passes as proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection to attend public gatherings, travel or go to work — in conjunction with public health measures, like mask wearing.

Both countries have also made vaccination mandatory for health workers — two of five countries to do so in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

South Africa is now mulling compulsory Covid-19 shots following the discovery of the Omicron variant. And on Tuesday, Greece announced that vaccinations for citizens over the age of 60 will be mandatory from mid-January.

Read more of this report here:

People wait in line for the corona vaccine outside of Christmas Market in front of Vienna's city hall in Vienna, Austria on November 15, 2021. - Authorities began vaccinating children between 5 and 11 against coronavirus in the capital on November 15, 2021, among soaring rates that saw a country wide lockdown for some two million people who have not been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Covid-19 vaccine mandates are divisive, but they can work. Europe is starting to show how

China has locked down several cities close to its northern border with Mongolia, following several outbreaks of Covid-19.

The largest flareup is in the Inner Mongolian city of Manzhouli, a crucial land port of entry bordering Russia.

On Tuesday the city had 34 confirmed cases, bringing its total number of cases to 73 since the start of the current outbreak which began on Saturday.

Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of northeastern China, bordering the independent country Mongolia and Russia.

On Monday, a total of 42 locally transmitted cases were also reported across two provinces and three municipalities in northern China, mostly in the city of Hulunbuir.

The city of Manzhouli has conducted three city-wide mass testings on its 300,000 residents over three days, according to the local government. The third round of testing happened Tuesday morning.

The city has been placed under a strict lockdown, with public transport suspended and 24-hour guarded checkpoints set up around its borders.

All residents are prohibited from going out – apart from medical support staff and material delivery personnel. Businesses, schools, universities, and kindergartens are closed across Manzhouli, the local government said in a press release Monday.

Genome sequencing of the first three cases in Manzhouli found that the infections may have been spread via “imported goods,” the Center for Epidemic Prevention and Control in Manzhouli said Tuesday.

From December 1, Manzhouli railway port will suspend the import of non-container goods that require manual handling.

Several other cities – some hundreds of miles from Manzhouli – have also been locked down, with major roads connecting the districts blocked off.

Covid-19 vaccinations for all Greek citizens over the age of 60 will soon be mandatory, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Tuesday.

Citizens who have not booked their first dose by January 16 will face a 100 euro (US $113) fine each passing month.

Money raised from the fines will go to a special fund to finance Greek hospitals.

“It’s a decision that tormented me personally I have to tell you. However, I feel a bigger responsibility to stand by the most vulnerable, even if they may be unhappy temporarily. I have absolutely no doubt that our political decision will save lives,” said Mitsotakis.
“It is not a punishment, I would say it is a price of health.”

Mitsotakis also warned that citizens should be vigilant as the new Omicron variant “will sooner or later make its appearance in Greece,” noting once again that the answer is not another lockdown.

Greece, like much of Europe, has been grappling with a fresh wave of infections and big rise in hospitalizations.

Passengers on London public transport have been told to wear a face mask or risk a £200 (US $267) fine from Tuesday, in line with tightened government restrictions.

Face coverings are now mandatory on public transport and in shops across the United Kingdom, as part of tougher restrictions to help prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant. 

All customers travelling on Transport for London’s (TfL) network – which includes buses, underground and overground trains – must wear a face covering or “risk being fined, unless they are exempt,” TfL said in a statement Tuesday. 

Face coverings have remained mandatory on TfL services since the UK government removed the national mask mandate on public transport over the summer.

But in reality, many passengers in the capital regularly travel without a face covering, and TfL has admitted enforcement powers had been “highly limited.”

Public transport passengers must now wear a face covering for their entire journey, including “in stations and on platforms,” as well as in taxi and private hire vehicles,” TfL said. It added that people who have trouble breathing, children and anyone who finds masks difficult to manage correctly could be exempt. 

“TfL’s 500 uniformed enforcement officers and TfL’s police partners will be out across the transport network ensuring that customers comply with the government regulation. Anybody who does not comply may be refused entry, directed to leave the network or face a fine,” TfL added in its statement. 

TfL will also be handing out face masks at various locations across the UK capital for a short time. 

China has “every confidence” it will be able to hold the Winter Olympics in February, despite the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.

“The Omicron variant will definitely pose some challenges on the epidemic prevention and control in terms of the Winter Olympics,” Zhao said during a news briefing.
“But with China’s experience, I have every confidence that the Winter Olympics will be held smoothly and successfully as scheduled,” Zhao added.

Several cases of the Omicron variant have now been confirmed across Asia Pacific – including in Australia, Japan and the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong. 

China is yet to issue travel restrictions in response to the new variant, but maintains strict controls over its borders as it continues to pursue a zero-covid strategy. 

Zhao said China appreciated South Africa’s timely sharing of information on the discovery of the Omicron variant. He added that the Chinese government would work with southern African countries to defeat the new strain through solidarity, cooperation and joint efforts.

The total number of Omicron cases in the United Kingdom rose to 14 on Tuesday, with the biggest leap coming from Scotland.

The number includes nine cases in Scotland and five in England, according to government figures. 

Scotland on Tuesday identified three additional cases of the coronavirus variant, Scottish Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, told Good Morning Scotland.

Across Scotland, there are now five cases in the Lanarkshire area, and four in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. 

Yousaf said that the Scottish government is working to “accelerate [the vaccination program] as quickly as we possibly can.”

Booster shots will now be offered to all people aged over 18 in Scotland, three months after the second dose, in line with UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) recommendation. 

Yousaf urged the public to take the Omicron variant “seriously,” adding that “we don’t really yet know whether it causes worse disease.”

Covid-19 did not seem to hurt the developing brains of babies born to mothers who had mild or moderate infections, according to a new unpublished study presented at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting Tuesday. 

Researchers performed magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scans to examine the brain development of the fetuses developing in the bodies of 33 patients at about 28 weeks of pregnancy. There was no indication that the infection, which the mothers got around 18 weeks into their pregnancies, had affected fetal brain development.  

Mothers with more severe infections were not included in the study. 

“Since the impact of severe infection on brain development in the fetus has not been conclusively determined, active protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy remains important,” said study co-author Sophia Stöcklein, a professor in the Department of Radiology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany. 

Stöcklein added that she hopes people who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant get vaccinated.

“Therefore, despite the encouraging results of our study, pregnant women should strongly consider vaccination,” Stöcklein said.

Pregnant women are immune compromised and at high risk of severe complications of Covid-19, and these include miscarriage.

Covid-19 can also pose serious problems for mother and child. Another study published Tuesday in PLoS Medicine showed that people who were pregnant and tested positive for Covid-19 had a higher number of deaths, premature or induced birth, fetal distress, pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, hemorrhage before or after birth, and cesarean sections. They were also admitted to the ICU much more frequently.

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with her designated successor Olaf Scholz Tuesday to discuss tougher Covid-19 restrictions amid a fourth wave gripping the country.

The meeting comes after Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court earlier on Tuesday ruled that emergency measures introduced in April were legal – rejecting claims they were unconstitutional.

The springtime measures included curfews, restricted contacts and school closures – which could be applied nationwide once seven-day case incidences surpassed certain limits.

Experts say the ruling could now pave the way for a future lockdown in Germany.

The country’s seven-day incidence rate on Tuesday stood at 452.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the national agency for disease control and prevention – a slight decrease on the previous day.

On Monday alone there were 45,753 new cases in a country with a population of roughly 83 million people. The same day, there were 388 Covid-19 related deaths – bringing the total number of fatalities since the start of the pandemic to 101,344.

Meanwhile Germany’s vaccination rate is one of the lowest in western Europe, at 68.4% fully vaccinated, according to the country’s health ministry. Those number dip in the country’s eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia, where the vaccination rates are 60.5% and 64.4% respectively.

Breakthrough Covid-19 infections among people who the fully vaccinated are more common and more severe in those who are immunocompromised, according to a new study published Tuesday in the Journal of Medical Economics.

“While some Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough infections among those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are expected, the findings of this study show that they are rare and less likely to result in hospitalization or death in those without an IC condition,” wrote the authors, from Pfizer and Genesis Research.

The authors looked at 1,176,907 people who were fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine and at least 14 days of follow-up data. They were split into immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised groups.

The proportion with breakthrough infections was three times higher in the immunocompromised group, the authors said.

In August, the US Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization for Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines so that certain immunocompromised people could have an additional dose.

The study findings support the FDA decision, the authors say, while noting that further research is necessary to continue monitoring the rates of general population breakthrough infections.

Some limitations of the study include that vaccination status information may not have been comprehensive — an unvaccinated study group wasn’t included — and that some breakthrough infections may have been missed.

The study was carried out before the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Japan has detected its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference Tuesday.

The infection was detected in a man in his 30s who traveled from Namibia to Tokyo and tested positive at Narita Airport on arrival Sunday.

Matsuno said the man is in quarantine at a government facility and his close contacts have been traced. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was planning to hold an emergency meeting with ministers, he added.

Japan is the 19th country or territory to diagnose a case of Omicron, according to analysis and data compiled by CNN.

Omicron has been labeled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization. There is no indication yet whether the variant is more transmissible or more deadly than previous mutations of the coronavirus.

Australia has reported a sixth case of the Omicron coronavirus variant after a traveler who recently arrived in the state of New South Wales from Qatar was found to be positive for the virus.

The patient, who is fully vaccinated, flew on flight QR908 from Doha to Sydney on November 25, according to a statement by NSW Health. The person had previously been in southern Africa.

According to the statement, the person had visited a number of venues in Sydney and the Central Coast before new arrival restrictions were enacted. The infected traveler is now isolating at home on the Central Coast.

Two people who had been on the same flight, QR908, have also been confirmed as Covid-19 cases, but genomic testing is still underway to determine if it is the Omicron variant, according to NSW Health. Neither traveler had spent time in southern Africa.

Australia has now identified five Omicron cases in New South Wales and one infection in the Northern Territory. 

The first case of the Omicron variant recorded on French territory has been detected on the island of Reunion, Dr. Patrick Mavingui, research director at French tropical disease center PIMIT, said Tuesday.

The patient, a 53-year-old man, had recently travelled to Mozambique via South Africa, before returning to Reunion on November 19, Mavingui told Reunion First Radio.

He was symptomatic and authorities had placed him and his entourage in quarantine.

In an effort to halt the Omicron variant’s spread, France imposed a temporary ban on flights between southern Africa and French territories on Friday.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Sunday that eight possible Omicron cases had been identified in France, adding it was possible the variant was already circulating in the country.

The Australian state of Tasmania has banned arrivals from overseas, with the exception of New Zealand’s South Island, following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Travelers who have spent time abroad in the 14 days prior to Sunday, November 28, will not be permitted to enter the state unless approved as an “essential traveler,” according to new guidance issued by the Tasmanian government.

If approved as an “essential traveler,” arrivals must present a negative Covid-19 test 72 hours prior to entry and complete a 14-day quarantine on arrival. 

The new measures are in addition to national restrictions and requirements already issued by the Australian government.

Earlier, Australia announced a ban on entry by foreign nationals who had traveled in the previous 14 days to nine southern African countries: South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi, and the Seychelles.

Hong Kong has tightened quarantine restrictions for arrivals from some African countries following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

From Tuesday, four African countries have been added to a list of high-risk locations with special additional quarantine requirements: Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Zambia. 

Hong Kong residents who travel from these four countries must spend seven days after arrival in a government quarantine facility where they will undergo daily Covid-19 testing. They must then spend an additional 14 days in compulsory quarantine at a hotel.

The requirement had already been put in place for Hong Kong residents arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Non-residents traveling from these countries can not enter Hong Kong.

High-risk list: In addition, from Thursday, nine more countries will be added to Hong Kong’s list of high-risk places, but without the need for additional quarantine in a government facility.

Those countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel, and Italy, all of which have identified at least one confirmed case of the Omicron variant.

Only fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents will be allowed to enter from these countries, after which they must undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine. Non-Hong Kong residents who have visited these countries within 21 days are no longer allowed to enter Hong Kong.

Singapore and Malaysia reopened their shared land border Monday to vaccinated travelers for the first time since the pandemic began almost two years ago.

Citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders of the country they are entering may now cross the border quarantine-free on designated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) buses, according to a statement by the Prime Minister of Singapore’s office. 

However, those who travel to Singapore by other means, including private transport or walking across the causeway, will be subject to border control measures, which include serving a seven-day Stay-Home Notice, the Singaporean government said in a statement. 

All travelers must be fully vaccinated, have a negative Covid-19 ART or PCR test taken within two days of departure, and have remained in Malaysia, Singapore or any other VTL country for at least 14 days prior. They will also have to take a Covid-19 test on arrival. 

The two countries “aim to progressively expand” the VTL to include general travelers from mid-December 2021 onwards, “taking into account the public health situation,” Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday.

“The Covid-19 situation in both countries is now stabilizing. Both have made good progress in vaccinating our populations. Hence it is timely for us to reopen our borders, progressively and safely,” Lee said. 

“We are all watching anxiously the new Omicron variant, to see how it will behave,” he added. “But even if Omicron disrupts these plans, our goal will still be to have more open borders between Singapore and Malaysia, and I am quite confident that after some time we will be able to make further progress.”

India says it “stands ready” to support countries in Africa affected by the Omicron variant, including providing vaccines and medical supplies.

In a statement Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was offering support to countries experiencing Omicron outbreaks by providing drugs, test kits, gloves, PPE kits and medical equipment such as ventilators.

The ministry also encouraged African nations to order India’s Covid-19 vaccines through COVAX, the World Health Organization’s global vaccine sharing program, or bilaterally.

“We express our solidarity with the countries, particularly in Africa, who have so far been affected by the Omicron variant,” the MEA said. 

The MEA said the government has approved all orders placed so far by COVAX for supplies of Covishield, a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford and produced by the Serum Institute of India, to African nations such as Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea and Lesotho.

Supplies of the India-made Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin have also been approved for Botswana.

“Any new requirement projected either bilaterally or through COVAX will be considered expeditiously,” according to the statement.

To date, India has supplied more than 25 million doses of its domestically developed vaccines to 41 countries in Africa through donations and COVAX supplies.

At least 17 countries and territories have confirmed Omicron variant cases, according to analysis and data compiled by CNN.

Spain and Austria both reported their first cases of the Omicron variant in the past 24 hours, while Germany confirmed its first infection with no overseas travel history.

These countries and territories have confirmed Omicron infections:

Australia   Austria   Belgium   Botswana   Canada   Czech Republic   Denmark   Germany   Hong Kong   Israel   Italy   Netherlands   Portugal   South Africa   Spain   Sweden   United Kingdom

Americans face at least two weeks of uncertainty before major questions may get answered about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Health experts urge the public to be cautious and patient as scientists try to find out whether Omicron — deemed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization — is more transmissible and dangerous than other forms of the novel coronavirus and whether existing vaccines work against it.

Omicron variant cases have been detected in numerous countries, including Canada. No cases have been found in the United States, but many experts says it’s inevitable.

The overall global risk related to the newly discovered B.1.1.529 strain of the coronavirus “is assessed as very high,” WHO said in a technical brief Monday.

Warnings about the renewed threat from the Omicron variant come as Americans have become weary of nearly two years of precautions and are returning from a Thanksgiving break that saw air travel at close to pre-pandemic levels.

Experts are now racing to determine the answers to these three critical questions:

• Do Omicron’s mutations make it more transmissible?

• Is it more severe or dangerous or deadly than other variants?

• Is it more resistant to vaccines?

It could be weeks before we have the answers.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said Monday that people should get vaccinated or get booster shots — and keep adhering to public health safety measures.

With much about Omicron still unknown, officials say vaccinations and boosters remain the best protection available.

At least 69 countries and territories have imposed travel restrictions in response to the spreading Omicron variant, according to analysis and data compiled by CNN. 

Here’s the list:

Angola     Argentina    Australia    Austria* Bahrain    Belgium* Brazil    Bulgaria* Canada    Chile   Colombia     Croatia* Cuba     Czech Republic* Denmark* Ecuador Egypt     Estonia* Fiji   Finland* France* Germany* Greece* Guatemala     Hong Kong    Hungary* India      Indonesia    Ireland* Israel  Italy* Japan      Jordan    Kuwait    Latvia* Lithuania* Luxembourg* Malaysia    Maldives    Malta* Morocco    Netherlands* New Zealand    Norway     Oman    Pakistan   Paraguay   Philippines    Poland* Portugal* Qatar    Republic of Cyprus* Romania* Russia     Rwanda   Saudi Arabia     Singapore    Slovakia* Slovenia* South Korea    Spain* Sri Lanka    Sweden* Switzerland   Taiwan    Thailand    Turkey    United Arab Emirates   United Kingdom   United States

*European Union member state

The first sample of the Omicron or B.1.1.529 lineage was taken November 9, according to WHO. It got noticed because of a surge of cases in South Africa.

Also, genetic sequencing showed it carried a large number of troubling mutations on the spike protein — the knoblike structure on the surface of the virus that it uses to grapple onto the cells it infects.

Some of those mutations were already recognized from other variants and were known to make them more dangerous, including one called E484A — a slightly altered version of a mutation called E484K that may make the virus less recognizable to some antibodies — immune system proteins that are a frontline defense against infection and that form the basis of monoclonal antibody treatments.

It also carries a mutation called N501Y, which gave both Alpha and Gamma their increased transmissibility. Just last week, Scott Weaver of the University of Texas Medical Branch and colleagues reported in the journal Nature that this particular mutation made the virus better at replicating in the upper airway — think in the nose and throat — and likely makes it more likely to spread when people breathe, sneeze and cough.

Like Delta, Omicron also carries a mutation called D614G, which appears to help the virus better attach to the cells it infects.

“The number of mutations per se does not mean that the new variant will cause any problems; although it may make it more likely to look different to the immune system,” Dr. Peter English, former chair of the British Medical Association’s Public Health Medicine Committee, said in a statement.

What worries scientists is the number of mutations affecting the spike protein. That’s because most of the leading vaccines target the spike protein. Vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and other companies all use just small pieces or genetic sequences of the virus and not whole virus, and all of them use bits of the spike protein to elicit immunity. So a change in the spike protein that made it less recognizable to immune system proteins and cells stimulated by a vaccine would be a problem.

So far, there’s no evidence this has happened but there is no way of knowing by looking at the mutations alone. Researchers will have to wait and see if more breakthrough infections are caused by Omicron than by other variants.

The other fear is that the mutations might help make the virus less susceptible to monoclonal antibody treatments. However, WHO says it’s unlikely these mutations would affect other Covid-19 treatments, including antiviral drugs in development and the steroid dexamethasone.

Read more about coronavirus variants:

COVID-19 sample viles are shown during preparation for isolation and extraction at the Genview Diagnosis lab on August 13, 2021 in Houston, Texas.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strengthened recommendations for booster doses of coronavirus vaccine Monday, saying all adults should get boosted six months after the second dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s or Moderna’s vaccine or two months after the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

It’s a slight but significant tweak to the wording of guidance issued earlier this month when the CDC endorsed an expanded emergency use authorization for boosters from the US Food and Drug Administration.

“Today, CDC is strengthening its recommendation on booster doses for individuals who are 18 years and older,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

“The recent emergence of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19,” she added.

“Early data from South Africa suggest increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and scientists in the United States and around the world are urgently examining vaccine effectiveness related to this variant. I strongly encourage the 47 million adults who are not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible and to vaccinate the children and teens in their families as well because strong immunity will likely prevent serious illness.”

Previously, the CDC said people should get a booster if they are 50 and older, or 18 and older and living in long-term care. Otherwise, it advised that anyone 18 and older may get a booster. Now the word “should” applies to everyone 18 and older.

It will take a few weeks of testing to know for sure whether the Omicron variant is more transmissible than Delta, and whether it evades the protection offered by natural infection or vaccines. Scientists will also be looking to see if it causes more severe disease or evades the effects of treatments.

Read more about the CDC’s recommendations:

Havertown, PA. October 25 : A COVID-19 Vaccine clinic was held Monday October 25, 2021 at the Haverford Township Municipal Building for area first responders and those eligible for the booster shots of all three vaccines. More than 180 vaccines were given over a two hour period. (Photo by Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group/Daily Times via Getty Images)

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