Borders that are closing again and cases that are spreading little by little: the omicron variant, detected in South Africa, generates new limitations and fears throughout the world.
Meanwhile, the WHO takes the floor to warn about this variant and to prepare the ground for the global response against future pandemics.
Closed borders
Israel was last midnight the first country in the world to impose a strict border closure to shield itself against the omicron, of which there are already two confirmed cases in the country.
Along these lines, Japan decided this Monday to close its borders again except for the return of its citizens and foreign residents, an “urgent” measure taken in response to the new strain. omicron Of which, for now, no infections have been detected in the country.
Japan thus opts for a new shield against the spread of the new variant that already affects Europe and other regions of the world, and only three weeks after the Asian country began to partially relax its border restrictions that had been in force for months due to the pandemic.
Philippine authorities announced on Monday the suspension of the opening of their borders without quarantine to tourists vaccinated against the COVID-19, a measure that was to take effect on December 1, due to the new variant omicron of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Australia delayed this Monday the partial opening of the borders to qualified workers and foreign students vaccinated from December 1 to 15 after detecting four cases of the new variant omicron of the COVID-19.
On the European Union, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, affirmed this Monday that the internal borders of the EU will not be closed despite the increase in epidemic pressure and the appearance of the new variant of the coronavirus identified in the south from Africa.
“Our weapon is the health certificate” that it is already necessary to move from one country to another, said Beaune who, regarding the external borders of the EU, said that France is committed to “a coordinated device” with the other community partners.
African rejection
The president of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera, joined the resounding criticism of these days against the travel restrictions and bans imposed on southern Africa after the detection of the variant omicron and stated that measures against COVID should be based “on science, not on Afrophobia.”
“We are all concerned about the new covid variant and we owe South African scientists our thanks for identifying it before anyone else.”Chakwera, who also serves as president of the block of countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), said last night through Facebook.
Omicron stretches
Portugal confirmed this Monday the detection of COVID-19 cases of the variant omicron. There are thirteen soccer players from Belenenses, who play in the Portuguese First Division.
South African footballer Cafu Phete, who belongs to this squad, returned to Portugal last Sunday, November 22, after playing two games with his country’s national team.
Six other cases of coronavirus omicron They have been identified in different areas of Scotland while in England there are already three.
Australia confirmed this Monday two new infections, with which there are already four identified in the country and Austria has reported this Monday the first case of infection with the variant omicron in its territory, a person who had returned from a trip to South Africa and who does not present any symptoms of the disease.
In Asia, the Hong Kong health authorities reported a new case of the variant, with which there are already three in that territory.
WHO is acting
The global risk posed by the new variant omicron of the coronavirus is “very high“Warned the World Health Organization in a technical report on this new strain of SARS-CoV-2.
Taking into account the high mutations of omicron, with the potential to be more resistant to immunization and more contagious, the risk of the variant being transmitted around the world is “high”, said the document, written this Sunday but made public by the WHO.
Faced with these risks, the WHO calls on its member states to take certain priority actions, including “accelerate vaccination, especially among at-risk populations that remain unvaccinated”.
In addition, the WHO opened an extraordinary assembly on Monday in which the member countries will negotiate the possible signing of a treaty to prepare and respond to future pandemics, with the aim of not repeating the mistakes made during the current global health crisis.
For three days, the main health officials of the 192 member states will debate the text of the treaty, of which there is already a draft, according to diplomatic sources.
It is the second time in history that the WHO has held an extraordinary assembly, which according to the organization shows the urgency of reaching an international consensus.
For their part, the G7 Health Ministers, the most developed economies, meet this Monday from 12.30 GMT to analyze strategies against the variant omicron of the coronavirus.
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