US announces travel restrictions over new Covid-19 variant

Italian authorities have identified the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant in the country, Italy’s health ministry said in a statement released Saturday.?

The one case, identified in the southwestern region of Campania, is a passenger who arrived from Mozambique, the statement said, but without disclosing the date of the passenger’s arrival or nationality.

The genomic testing was done in Milan, the statement added

Mozambique?is located on the southeast coast of Africa.

German authorities have identified the first two confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the country.

The two cases, identified in Munich, are two passengers who arrived from Cape Town on Nov. 24, the Bavarian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday.

Fifty other passengers from Friday’s flight are in quarantine, and two foreign citizens who are isolated in a hotel have since tested positive for Covid-19.

“Investigations are underway to determine if they are infected with the Omicron variant,” the ministry said.

Earlier on Saturday: German authorities had identified a “suspected” case of the Omicron variant in Frankfurt from another passenger who returned from South Africa.

The local health department said it should be able to confirm the full sequencing of the virus in this patient on Monday.

President Biden has again been briefed Saturday on the latest developments surrounding the new Omicron variant from his health team.?

The team is monitoring the situation closely and is in regular touch with African health officials, according to an official familiar with the situation.?

England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty explained that the potential risk from the new Omicron Covid-19 variant differs from the Delta variant:

However, even if the new variant is more capable of infecting someone vaccinated, “it might be that [vaccines] are sufficient to prevent people from having severe disease and dying,” according to UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance.

During the press conference, Johnson announced tightened rules for travelers and said the government is looking into expanding the groups eligible for booster shots and reducing the time between the second shot and the booster jab.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference on November 27, in London.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the UK must take “targeted and proportionate measures now” amid concerns over the new Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Two cases of the variant have been detected in the UK so far.

Johnson also announced additional measures:

The prime minister said his country will also “boost the booster campaign” in an effort to get as many people possible their vaccine booster shot.

“We don’t yet exactly know how effective our vaccines will be against Omicron, but we have good reasons for believing they will provide at least some measure of protection. And if you’re boosted, your response is likely to be stronger. So it’s more vital than ever that people get their jabs and we get those boosters into arms as fast as possible,” Johnson said.

Johnson said rules on face?coverings in stores and on public transportation will be “tightening up.”?

The new measures will be reviewed in three weeks, he said.

Johnson expressed his “deep gratitude” to scientists in South Africa for identifying this variant.

Watch Boris Johnson’s speech:

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Travelers queue at a check-in counter at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on November 27.

The discovery of a?new Covid-19 variant?first detected in South Africa prompted multiple countries to impose travel restrictions on at least?six African nations.?

The newly identified variant appears to be spreading rapidly in parts of South Africa, and scientists are concerned that its unusually high number of mutations could make it more transmissible and result in immune evasion.

Cases have so far been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium. The World Health Organization classified it as a “variant of concern” on Friday.?

These are the countries that have announced restrictions so far:

Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez has extended the Covid-19 health emergency due to “the current global health situation.”

Duque also announced during a news conference Saturday that all passengers arriving from South Africa will have to go into mandatory quarantine for 15 days to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The head of state said the vaccination card for those who have had two doses of the vaccine will be required?for entering “crowded places”?starting from Dec. 14.

The state of emergency will begin on Nov. 30 through Feb. 28 due to the current situation of the global pandemic. Measures are being taken as a precaution against the variant and safeguarding the health workers in Colombia, Duque added.

The local government of the Essex Country Council confirmed Saturday?that authorities have identified one case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in the area.?

The case was confirmed in Brentwood, around 50 miles from London, and is “linked to a single case from Nottingham involving international travel to South Africa,” the council said via Twitter, adding “the individuals who have so far tested positive, as well as all members of their households, are being re-tested and have been told to self-isolate while contact tracing is underway.”

Earlier today: Two cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the United Kingdom, the country’s Secretary of State for Health Sajid Javid said on Saturday.

Javid tweeted that the two cases were linked and that there was a connection with travel to southern Africa. ?

US federal health officials are working around the clock to learn more about the concerning new Omicron variant, officials say, but it could be several weeks before more is known about whether the fears of the highly mutated variant are justified.

Officials are working closely with health officials in other countries to learn more about the variant, but at a minimum, it will be several days — and potentially several weeks — before they’re able to properly assess whether the variant causes more severe disease or affects vaccine efficacy.

Until they know more, officials will continue to push for vaccinations and booster shots. Amid global fears about the variant, they are urging for a measured response.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies on Capitol Hill on November 4, in Washington, DC.

Dr. Anthony?Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that it is possible that the Omicron Covid-19 variant is already in the United States but has yet to be detected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?on Friday said that to date no known Omicron cases have been identified in the US, and that if the variant emerges, the agency expects that cases would be quickly identified through the nation’s variant surveillance system.

“The issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better. That’s the reason for doing that. Not any reason to panic, but we want to give it some time to really fill in the blanks of what we don’t know right now,” Fauci added.

Although there is “not any reason to panic,” Fauci cautioned that the new variant is to be taken seriously and warrants the newly imposed travel ban against South Africa and seven neighboring countries.

“It may not turn out that way, but you want to be ahead of it. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing,” he told NBC.

Two cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the United Kingdom, the country’s Secretary of State for Health Sajid Javid said on Saturday.

Javid tweeted that the two cases were linked and that there was a connection with travel to southern Africa.

The Health Secretary said targeted testing would be rolled out in the affected areas (of Nottingham and Chelmsford) as well as sequencing of all positive cases.

Javid said Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola would be added to the UK’s travel red list, effective from 4 a.m. Sunday.

“If you have returned from there in the last 10 days you must isolate and get PCR tests,” his tweet said.

A country being on the “red list” means that UK residents, as well as British and Irish nationals arriving home from that red list point of departure, must undergo a 10-day hotel quarantine at their own expense.

The Omicron variant has probably arrived in Germany, a state minister for Hesse said Saturday.

“There is a high probability and the person has been placed in home quarantine. The full sequencing has not been completed yet,” Klose added and urged people who recently returned from Southern Africa to avoid contacts and get tested.

Like many other countries, Germany has banned flights from South Africa since the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant there. However, the ban only kicked in on Saturday morning, meaning flights arriving before then landed in Germany as scheduled.

Health authorities in the Czech Republic are investigating a suspected case of the Omicron variant in a traveler who has recently arrived from Namibia, the Czech National Institute of Public Health?said in a statement emailed to CNN?Saturday.?

The institute said that that a PCR test indicated the infection could have been caused by the Omicron variant, but added that a full sequencing of the sample needs to be completed in order to confirm this. It said the sequencing work is underway.

If confirmed, it would be the first case of the new and potentially more transmissible variant in the Czech Republic.

The Czech government has also imposed a travel ban on foreign travelers from eight African nations. As of midnight local time Nov. 27, foreign travelers from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique will not be allowed to enter the Czech Republic, according to the government website.

Czech citizens and permanent residents returning to the Czech Republic are allowed to come but?will be required to go into isolation for 10 days.

The Philippines has temporarily suspended entry of flights from seven African countries amid concerns over the Covid-19 Omicron variant, state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.?

Inbound flights from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique are suspended until Dec. 15.?

The Philippine government is also looking to expand its travel ban to more countries as it monitors the latest development of the variant, PNA reported, citing a senior health official.

“We have an ongoing discussion and expect that there will be developments within the day or by tomorrow on the possible expansion of the list but of course the decision will be based on the data that we will get,” Dr. Beverly Ho, director of the Health Promotion Bureau and the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, said in a press briefing.??