WORLD
WHO says new COVID-19 variant Omicron is a ‘variant of concern’ as travel restrictions imposed in several countries
The discovery of a complex new COVID-19 variant with dozens of mutations, detected in five countries and igniting a rapid surge of cases in South Africa, has triggered a wave of travel bans and border controls in many countries worldwide.
Scientists in South Africa announced on Thursday that they had identified the worrisome new variant, which might be more transmissible than others. Within hours, Britain announced a ban on flights from South Africa and several other African countries.
On Friday, the World Health Organization designated it a “variant of concern,” the fifth variant to be given the designation. The WHO said in a statement that it had assigned the B.1.1.529 variant the Greek letter Omicron.
Many other governments issued their own travel restrictions on Friday, causing a drop in global stocks and oil prices as investors fretted about the risk of broader economic damage.
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Some of the earliest cases of the new variant were detected in Hong Kong and Israel among travellers from Southern African countries. But on Friday, a case of the variant was detected in Belgium with no known connection to Southern Africa, suggesting that it could already be circulating widely in many countries. The Belgian case involved a traveller from Egypt, at the opposite end of the African continent.
South Africa has the largest number of confirmed cases of the variant, about 100 so far, and neighbouring Botswana has detected four additional cases, including one of the first known. The new variant is believed to be the likely cause of a recent dramatic increase in cases in South Africa’s Gauteng province, a populous region where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located.
There are concerns that the variant is likely to have emerged in an African country with a low vaccination rate, after nearly a year of global vaccine shortages and lengthy delays in sharing vaccines with low-income countries. Only 7 per cent of Africans have been fully vaccinated so far. Even in middle-income South Africa, only 24 per cent of people have been fully vaccinated, largely because the country was unable to get a significant supply of vaccines until several months after wealthier countries had begun vaccinating.
The new variant, called B.1.1.529, has about 50 mutations, including more than 30 in the spike protein, which coronaviruses use to enter human cells. This is about twice the number of such mutations in the Delta variant.
“The epidemiological picture suggests that this variant may be more transmissible, and several mutations are consistent with enhanced transmissibility,” said Sharon Peacock, a professor of public health and microbiology at the University of Cambridge.
Some of the variant’s mutations have also been associated with immune evasion, suggesting that existing vaccines may be less effective against it. But the evidence is not yet clear. Studies are being conducted in South Africa, but will take several weeks to complete.
Among the governments that are now banning or restricting travellers from South Africa and other Southern African countries are those of Britain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Israel and Hong Kong. The restrictions mean the suspension of direct flights and a requirement for a lengthy quarantine for travellers from Southern Africa. Canada has not yet announced any new restrictions.
One flight from South Africa to the Netherlands on Friday was caught by the travel ban in the midst of its flight. After the flight landed in Amsterdam, its passengers were required to remain on board the plane for several hours, and then were taken off to be tested for the virus.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, defending the travel ban, described the new variant as “the most significant” to be detected by scientists in the pandemic so far.
But the World Health Organization, which convened a special meeting of its technical advisory group on Friday, took a different position, and cautioned against any travel restrictions until the new variant has been properly studied.
“It will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a media briefing in Geneva.
“At this point, again, implementing travel measures is being cautioned against,” he said.
He also praised South African scientists for their “remarkable speed” in detecting and reporting the new variant. “The WHO is grateful to the South African researchers, and it’s been outstanding how open and transparent they have been.”
Many scientists and health experts said South Africa is being unfairly punished for the speed and transparency of its detection of new variants. The travel bans will inflict devastating damage on the economies of Southern Africa, where many countries are heavily dependent on tourism.
South Africa had expected about 300,000 British visitors from December to February, creating up to 300,000 jobs – a crucial boost for its battered economy, especially after massive losses from an earlier British travel ban this year. Now those jobs are likely to be lost.
The South African government said the travel ban was rushed and premature, and that will appeal to the British government to reconsider.
“Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to the tourism industries and businesses of both countries,” said Naledi Pandor, the South African Minister of International Relations.
Tulio de Oliveira, one of the South African scientists who helped detect the new variant, said the world should support South Africa and the African continent in its battle against the virus “and not discriminate or isolate it.”
In a tweet, he added: “We have been very transparent with scientific information. We identified, made data public and raised the alarm as the infections are increasing. We did this to protect our country and the world, in spite of potentially suffering massive discrimination.”
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