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.
The first Minister Mark Rutte announced on Saturday the total confinement of the Netherlands, ordering the closure of all stores, except essential ones, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places from Sunday until at least January 14.
Twelve people have died in the United Kingdom after contracting the omicron variantDeputy Prime Minister said Monday Dominic Raab, who refused to rule out a tightening of social restrictions before Christmas.
“I just can’t give quick and clear guarantees,” he told Times Radio. “In assessing the situation we are highly dependent on the actual data we get, and it will take us a little longer to assess this critical issue of omicron severity.”
Panel scientific advice from the German Government said in a statement Sunday that it is necessary to further limit social contacts, as the 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 the contact of people who have been fully vaccinated be restricted or who have received a booster shot. “We must be cautious about ruling out anything,” he told the ARD broadcaster.
Ireland ordered bars to close on Friday 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 Sunday press reports.
Oil prices fell by more than 3% on Monday. While, European and British stock markets reached two-week lows, with falls of 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.
“Ómicron (…) is still one of the biggest problems for the markets right now and it has significantly clouded the outlook for the end of the year. “
The infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci stated that 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
Source From: Ambito
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