Existing COVID vaccines will struggle against the “highly transmissible” Omicron variant, Stephane Bancel, head of US vaccine manufacturer Moderna, told the Financial Times on Tuesday, adding that it will take two weeks to know whether current vaccines are effective and months to develop a new one.
A growing number of countries have imposed travel restrictions after the new variant with a high number of mutations was detected in South Africa last week.
On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the global risk from the spread of Omicron was “very high”.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has said the strain should be considered a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic”. No Omicron-linked deaths have been reported yet.
Here are all the latest updates.
Norwegians should wear face masks in crowded places, PM says
Norwegians should wear face masks in public transport and other crowded places amid a surge in coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.
The centre-left minority government on Monday said it would seek to limit any potential spread of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, including by imposing longer isolation on those found to have been infected with it.
Three new Omicron cases identified in Scotland
Three new Omicron cases have been identified in Scotland, Sky News reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in Britain to 14.
Cambodia bars entry to travelers from 10 African countries
Cambodia has barred entry to travelers from 10 African countries, citing the threat from the new omicron coronavirus variant.
The move, announced in a Health Ministry statement issued late Monday, came just two weeks after Cambodia reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers.
The Health Ministry said the entry ban included anyone who has spent time in the previous three weeks in any of the 10 listed countries, including South Africa where the variant was first reported. Other countries include Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola and Zambia.
No date was set for lifting the new restriction.
EU drug watchdog chief: could approve COVID-19 shot against new variant in 3-4 months
The EU drug regulator could approve COVID-19 vaccines that have been adapted to target the new variant within three to four months if needed, the agency’s chief said as she said existing shots would continue to provide protection.
Speaking to the European Parliament, European Medicines Agency (EMA) executive director Emer Cooke said it was not known if drugmakers would need to tweak their vaccines to protect against Omicron, but the agency was preparing for that possibility.
The head of the European Medicines agency said it was not yet known whether drugmakers would have to tweak the vaccines to better address the threat of the new coronavirus strain [File: Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]
Japan confirms first case of new coronavirus variant
Japan has confirmed its first case of the new omicron coronavirus variant, a visitor who recently arrived from Namibia, an official said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the patient, a man in his 30s, tested positive upon arrival at Narita airport on Sunday and was isolated and is being treated at a hospital. Matsuno did not identify his nationality, citing privacy reasons.
A genome analysis at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases confirmed Tuesday that he was infected with the new variant, which was first identified in South Africa.
His travel companions and passengers in nearby seats have been identified and have been reported to Japanese health authorities for follow up.
A notice about COVID-19 safety measures is pictured next to closed doors at a departure hall of Narita international airport on the first day of closed borders to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus Omicron variant [Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters]
China says Omicron will ‘lead to challenges’ for Winter Olympics
China has warned that the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant would cause challenges in hosting next February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Although China has largely quashed the coronavirus within its borders through travel restrictions and snap lockdowns, recurrent domestic outbreaks linked to the Delta variant have put the authorities on high alert.
“I think it will definitely lead to challenges linked to prevention and control,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, adding that Beijing “appreciates the efforts by South Africa in offering timely information” on the variant.
“But China has a lot of experience in responding to Covid-19,” Zhao added. “I firmly believe the Winter Olympics will be conducted smoothly.”
Australia on alert as first Omicron community case confirmed
Australian authorities have confirmed that a person with COVID-19 had the new Omricon variant after disclosing that the person had been active in the community, but urged calm as they weighed up the severity of the strain.
The fully vaccinated person visited a busy shopping centre in Sydney while likely infectious, officials said. All passengers in the person’s flight were asked to self-isolate for 14 days regardless of their vaccination status.
The additional case brings Australia’s total number of infections with the new variant to six. But it is the first case where the person appeared to be active in the community.
All other cases have been in quarantine and are asymptomatic or display very mild symptoms.
Case of new COVID Omicron variant found on French territory of Reunion
A person has tested positive for the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, official researcher Dr. Patrick Mavingui said.
Mavingui said the person was a 53-year old man who had travelled to Mozambique and made a stop-over in South Africa. The patient who returned to La Reunion some two weeks ago, is currently in isolation, Mavingui told local French media.
Health ministry data showed on Monday that France had registered its biggest jump in coronavirus-related hospital admissions since the spring.
The number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) with COVID-19 jumped by 117 to 1,749 people, the biggest increase since March-April, when the ICU number rose by more than 100 per day on several day.
Singapore to hold off further reopening to evaluate Omicron variant
Singapore will hold off on further reopening measures while it evaluates the Omicron COVID-19 variant and will boost testing of travelers and frontline workers to reduce the risk of local transmission, authorities said.
“This is a prudent thing to do for now, when we are faced with a major uncertainty,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told a media briefing on Tuesday, adding the variant had not yet been detected locally.
India promises more COVID-19 shots to Omicron-hit Africa after Chinese move
India stands ready to “expeditiously” send more COVID-19 vaccine to Africa to help fight the Omicron variant, New Delhi announced late Monday after China pledged 1 billion doses to the continent.
India and China have close ties with many African countries but Beijing has pumped much more money into the region, and on Monday promised to invest another $10 billion.
India said it had supplied more than 25 million doses of domestically made shots to 41 African countries, mostly through the global vaccine-distribution network COVAX.
“The Government of India stands ready to support the countries affected in Africa in dealing with the Omicron variant, including by supplies of Made-in-India vaccines,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Moderna CEO says vaccines likely less effective against Omicron
The head of drugmaker Moderna said COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as they have been previously, sparking fresh worry in financial markets about the trajectory of the pandemic.
“There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is the same level . . . we had with Delta,” Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel told the Financial Times.
“I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to . . . are like ‘this is not going to be good.'”
Bancel added that the high number of mutations on the protein spike the virus uses to infect human cells meant it was likely the current crop of vaccines would need to be modified.
Hong Kong bans non-resident arrivals from 13 more countries
Hong Kong has banned non-residents from entering the city from four African countries and plans to expand that to travellers who have been to Australia, Canada, Israel and six European countries in the past 21 days due to fears over Omicron.
In a statement late on Monday, the Hong Kong government said non-residents from Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia would not be allowed to enter the global financial hub as of November 30. Residents can return if they are vaccinated but will have to quarantine for seven days in a government facility and another two weeks in a hotel at their own cost.
“Non-Hong Kong residents from these four places will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong,” the statement said. “The most stringent quarantine requirements will also be implemented on relevant inbound travellers from these places.”
Additionally, non-residents who have been to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel, and Italy in the past 21 days would not be allowed to enter the city from December 2. Vaccinated residents returning from these countries will have to do three weeks of hotel quarantine.
Fiji proceeds with border reopening despite Omicron
Fiji will press on with plans to reopen its border to international travellers on Wednesday, despite the threat from the newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant, the Pacific nation’s leader has told Parliament.
Fiji has long targeted December 1 as the day it will welcome back foreign holidaymakers to boost a tourism-reliant economy devastated since the pandemic forced borders to close in March last year.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Omicron’s recent emergence would not derail the plans and he would personally welcome the first Fiji Airways flight into Nadi from Australia on Wednesday morning.
“We are still emerging from the horrible pandemic that we suffered and are just starting to recover from its economic devastation,” he told Parliament on Monday.
“Businesses are rebuilding … and people everywhere are resuming their normal lives.
Singapore says two travellers to Sydney with Omicron transited at Changi
Singapore’s Ministry of Health says two travellers from Johannesburg, who tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant in Sydney, had transited through Changi airport.
The two individuals left Johannesburg on November 27 on a Singapore Airlines flight and arrived at Changi on the same day for their transit flight, the ministry said in a statement. Both had tested negative for COVID-19 prior to departure, it added.
The ministry said most of the travellers had remained in the transit area at Changi Airport. Of the seven who disembarked, six had been placed on a 10-day stay at home notice, while the seventh, a close contact of an infected individual on the flight, had been quarantined.
“Contact tracing is ongoing for airport staff who may have come into transient contact with the cases,” the ministry said.
Hong Kong stocks begin with further losses
Hong Kong shares dipped at the open of trade on Tuesday to extend losses stemming from the new Omicron strain that has fanned fears about the effect on the global economic recovery.
The Hang Seng Index dipped 0.29 percent, or 69.38 points, to 23,782.86.
The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.23 percent, or 8.05 points, to 3,570.75, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange gained 0.35 percent, or 8.80 points, to 2,525.73.
Australia to delay border reopening for international travellers
Australia announced that it would delay the reopening of its borders to vaccinated skilled workers, international students and other visa holders, which was set for Wednesday, due to the emerging coronavirus Omicron variant.
“The National Security Committee has taken the necessary and temporary decision to pause the next step to safely reopen Australia to international skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders from 1 December until 15 December,” a Monday evening statement by the Canberra government said.
“The reopening to travellers from Japan and the Republic of Korea will also be paused until 15 December.”
The government said the “temporary pause” would allow the country time to “gather the information we need to better understand the Omicron variant”.
Vaccines likely no match for Omicron, says Moderna CEO - Al Jazeera English
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