Europe weighs Christmas restrictions as omicron soars across continent

Britain did not rule out the possibility of restricting social gatherings on Monday, a day after the Netherlands imposed a fourth lockdown in response to the omicron variant of the coronavirus, and while other European countries considered imposing restrictions on Christmas.

The omicron contagions are multiplying rapidly in Europe and the United States, doubling every two or three days in London and elsewhere, and taking a toll on financial markets, which fear its impact on the global economic recovery.

The variant was first detected last month in southern Africa and Hong Kong, and has so far been recorded in at least 89 countries. The severity of the disease it causes remains unclear.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Saturday the total lockdown of the Netherlands, ordering the closure of all stores, except essentials, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places from Sunday until at least 14 of January.

Twelve people have died in Britain after catching the omicron variant, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Monday, declining to rule out a tightening of social restrictions before Christmas.

“I just can’t give quick and clear guarantees”He told Times Radio. “When assessing the situation we are highly dependent on the actual data that reaches us and it will take us a little longer to assess this critical issue of omicron severity.”.

The German government’s scientific advisory panel said in a statement Sunday that social contacts need to be further limited, as data so far shows that boosters alone would not be enough to contain the spread of the virus.

The Prime Minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wuest, did not rule out that contact restriction of people who have been fully vaccinated or who have received a booster vaccine. “We must be cautious when discarding anything“He told the ARD broadcaster.

Ireland on Friday ordered the closure of bars and restaurants at 8:00 p.m. local time and reduced the capacity at all public events. Italy is also studying new measures to prevent an increase in infections, according to press reports on Sunday.

Oil prices fell by more than 3% on Monday. Meanwhile, the European and British stock markets reached two-week lows, with falls of 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively.

“Ómicron remains one of the biggest problems for the markets at the moment and has significantly clouded the outlook for the end of the year.”.

Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said omicron is “wreaking havoc around the world,” while urging Americans to get vaccinated. Since the beginning of the month, COVID cases in the United States have risen 50%, according to a Reuters tally.

Booster doses, in addition to the two-shot vaccines, appear to be the key to combating the variant. Moderna Inc said Monday that a booster dose of its vaccine appears to protect against omicron in laboratory tests, and that the current version of the vaccine would remain the company’s “first line of defense.”

Thailand is studying the possibility of reinstating the mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors, after the Ministry of Health reported the first case of local transmission of omicron in the country.

Since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019, more than 274.24 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide. More than 5.65 million people have died from the virus.