Travel curbs aimed at COVID variant tighten across the world

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Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

A pistillate and a child, some wearing look masks to support from COVID-19 look astatine a commercialized bureau gathering successful Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

HONG KONG – Australian officials were racing Sunday to behaviour further tests connected passengers arriving from confederate Africa who tested affirmative for COVID-19 to find if they were carrying the omicron variant arsenic nations astir the satellite tightened controls against the worrying caller strain.

Neighboring New Zealand announced it was restricting question from 9 confederate African countries due to the fact that of the menace posed by the variant, and Japan widened its borderline controls to see much countries from the region. Tourist-dependent Thailand, which lone precocious began loosening its choky borderline restrictions to leisure travelers from definite countries, announced a prohibition of its ain connected visitors from 8 African counties. Similar restrictions took effect successful the concern hub of Singapore, which is barring introduction and transit to anyone with a caller past of question to 7 confederate African nations.

The tighter restrictions successful the Asia-Pacific portion echoed steps rapidly taken by countries astir the satellite to bounds the dispersed of the omicron variant conscionable days aft it was identified by researchers successful South Africa. The enactment first, inquire questions aboriginal attack reflected increasing alarm astir the emergence of a perchance much contagious variant astir 2 years into a pandemic that has killed much than 5 cardinal people, upended lives and disrupted economies crossed the globe.

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While overmuch remains to beryllium learned astir the caller variant, researchers are acrophobic that it whitethorn beryllium much resistant to the extortion provided by vaccines and could mean that the pandemic lasts for longer than anticipated.

Cases involving the omicron variant person already been confirmed connected aggregate continents, with Germany, Italy, Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong each reporting cases successful caller days.

The United States’ apical infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said helium would not beryllium amazed if the omicron variant was already successful the U.S., too.

“We person not detected it yet, but erstwhile you person a microorganism that is showing this grade of transmissibility ... it astir invariably is yet going to spell fundamentally each over,” Fauci said connected NBC television.

In Australia, the New South Wales wellness section said Sunday that urgent genomic investigating was being done connected samples taken from 2 passengers who arrived successful Sydney from confederate Africa the time earlier and tested affirmative connected arrival.

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The section said the travelers were from 1 of 9 African countries that are present required to quarantine successful a edifice upon accomplishment successful Sydney. The countries are South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi and the Seychelles.

New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the land federation was taking a precautionary approach. From precocious Sunday, lone New Zealand citizens from 9 African countries volition beryllium allowed introduction to New Zealand, and they volition beryllium required to walk 2 weeks successful a quarantine edifice tally by the military.

Hipkins said officials were assured the variant hadn’t entered New Zealand and they were good placed to support it out.

Many countries person slapped restrictions connected assorted confederate African countries implicit the past mates of days, including Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Iran and the U.S., successful effect to warnings implicit the transmissibility of the caller variant. This goes against the proposal of the World Health Organization, which has warned against immoderate overreaction earlier the variant was thoroughly studied.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.


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