A couple walk past closed boutique stores on the Graben, a street in the city center of Vienna that is normally packed with crowds of people on Nov 22, 2021. (JOE KLAMAR / AFP)
LONDON / BERLIN / AMSTERDAM / BOGOTA / TUNIS / ZURICH / LUANDA – Austria has detected its first suspected case of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in the Tirol, authorities in the alpine region said late on Saturday.
A traveller who returned from South Africa last week tested positive for COVID-19 with indications of the new variant, though confirmation requires further sequencing over the coming days, Tirol authorities said in a statement.
South Africa's discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on investor fears that it could stall recovery from the pandemic. Cases were detected in several European countries on Saturday, including Italy and Germany.
Austria had already powered down public life last Monday with its fourth national coronavirus lockdown, becoming the first western European country to reimpose the unpopular measure this autumn owing to surging COVID-19 infections.
Initial testing by the Institute of Virology in Innsbruck had led to "concrete suspicion" the positive PCR test result from the individual in Tirol's Schwaz district could relate to an Omicron case, authorities said.
The sample would now be sent to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) for further testing.
"A result from AGES is expected in the coming days," Elmar Rizzoli, Head of Tirol's Corona Operations Staff, said in a statement. "The affected person has, according to his own statements and current knowledge, stayed almost exclusively at home since his return from travel three days ago and currently shows no symptoms."
Authorities appealed for further testing by individuals who had entered Austria within the past 14 days from countries in southern Africa as a precautionary measure.
Omicron
Britain, Germany and Italy detected cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa.
The discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could stall a global recovery from the nearly two-year pandemic.
The discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on Friday as investors worried that Omicron could stall a global recovery from the nearly two-year pandemic
The two linked cases of Omicron detected in Britain were connected to travel to southern Africa, British health minister Sajid Javid said.
Johnson laid out measures that included stricter testing rules for people arriving in the country but that stopped short of curbs on social activity other than requiring mask wearing in some settings.
"We will require anyone who enters the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result," Johnson told a news conference.
ALSO READ: WHO says new strain is a variant of concern, names it Omicron
People who had come into contact with people testing positive for a suspected case of Omicron would have to self-isolate for 10 days and the government would tighten the rules on wearing face coverings, Johnson said, adding the steps would be reviewed in three weeks.
The health ministry in the German state of Bavaria also announced two confirmed cases of the variant. The two people entered Germany at Munich airport on Nov 24, before Germany designated South Africa as a virus-variant area, and were now isolating, said the ministry, indicating without stating explicitly that the people had travelled from South Africa.
In Italy, the National Health Institute said a case of the new variant had been detected in Milan in a person coming from Mozambique.
Czech health authorities also said they were examining a suspected case of the variant in a person who spent time in Namibia.
Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization, is potentially more contagious than previous variants of the disease, although experts do not know yet if it will cause more or less severe COVID-19 compared to other strains.
England's Chief Medical Officer, Chris Witty, said at the same news conference as Johnson that there was still much uncertainty around Omicron, but "there is a reasonable chance that at least there will be some degree of vaccine escape with this variant".
ALSO READ: What we know about the new coronavirus variant now spreading
The variant was first discovered in South Africa and had also since been detected in Belgium and Botswana.
Dutch authorities said 61 of around 600 people who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa on Friday had tested positive for the coronavirus. Health authorities were carrying out further tests to see if those cases involved the new variant.
One passenger who arrived from South Africa on Friday, Dutch photographer Paula Zimmerman, said she tested negative but was anxious for the days to come.
"I’ve been told that they expect that a lot more people will test positive after five days. It's a little scary the idea that you’ve been in a plane with a lot of people who tested positive," she said.
Financial markets plunged on Friday, especially stocks of airlines and others in the travel sector. Oil prices tumbled by about $10 a barrel.
It could take weeks for scientists to understand fully the variant's mutations and whether existing vaccines and treatments are effective against it.
ALSO READ: Asian countries, alarmed by new variant, tighten borders
Although epidemiologists say travel curbs may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally, many countries around the world – including the United States, Brazil, Canada and European Union nations – announced travel bans or restrictions on southern Africa on Friday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State Department added on Saturday to Washington's previously announced travel restrictions, advising against travel to eight southern African countries.
US Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Saturday that the administration will take it "one step at a time," when asked about additional travel restrictions. "For now we've done what we think is necessary," Harris said.
South Africa is worried that the curbs will hurt tourism and other sectors of its economy, the foreign ministry said on Saturday, adding the government is engaging with countries that have imposed travel bans to persuade them to reconsider.
Omicron has emerged as many countries in Europe are already battling a surge in COVID-19 infections, and some have re-introduced restrictions on social activity to try to stop the spread.
The new variant has also thrown a spotlight on disparities in how far the world's population is vaccinated. Even as many developed countries are giving third-dose boosters, less than 7 percent of people in low-income countries have received their first COVID-19 shot, according to medical and human rights groups.
Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Vaccine Alliance that with the WHO co-leads the COVAX initiative to push for equitable distribution of vaccines, said this was essential to ward off the emergence of more coronavirus variants.
“While we still need to know more about Omicron, we do know that as long as large portions of the world’s population are unvaccinated, variants will continue to appear, and the pandemic will continue to be prolonged," he said in a statement to Reuters.
"We will only prevent variants from emerging if we are able to protect all of the world’s population, not just the wealthy parts."
Angola
The Angolan authorities on Saturday announced the suspension of flights to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Tanzania due to the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant, known as B.1.1.529 or Omicron.
Francisco Pereira Furtado, the Angolan minister of state and head of the security house of the president of the republic, said the move is aimed at stopping the spread of the more lethal and fast spreading variant.
Speaking at a press conference on preventive measures against COVID-19, Francisco Pereira Furtado said the measure takes effect on Sunday midnight and will stay in force until Jan 5, 2022.
The official asked Angolans to get vaccinated.
On the same occasion, Adao de Almeida, state minister and chief of staff of the country's president, said that citizens who arrive in the country as of Sunday and have traveled through the countries in question will have to comply with a 14-day home quarantine following a negative virus test upon landing.
Austria
Austria has detected its first suspected case of the new Omicron coronavirus variant in the Tirol, authorities in the alpine region said late on Saturday.
A traveller who returned from South Africa last week tested positive for COVID-19 with indications of the new variant, though confirmation requires further sequencing over the coming days, Tirol authorities said in a statement.
South Africa's discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of travel bans or curbs and a sell-off on financial markets on investor fears that it could stall recovery from the pandemic. Cases were detected in several European countries on Saturday, including Italy and Germany.
Austria had already powered down public life last Monday with its fourth national coronavirus lockdown, becoming the first western European country to reimpose the unpopular measure this autumn owing to surging COVID-19 infections.
Initial testing by the Institute of Virology in Innsbruck had led to "concrete suspicion" the positive PCR test result from the individual in Tirol's Schwaz district could relate to an Omicron case, authorities said.
The sample would now be sent to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) for further testing.
"A result from AGES is expected in the coming days," Elmar Rizzoli, Head of Tirol's Corona Operations Staff, said in a statement. "The affected person has, according to his own statements and current knowledge, stayed almost exclusively at home since his return from travel three days ago and currently shows no symptoms."
Authorities appealed for further testing by individuals who had entered Austria within the past 14 days from countries in southern Africa as a precautionary measure.
Colombian police officers stand guard as a girl gets vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, on the border with Venezuela, on Nov 8, 2021. (SCHNEYDER MENDOZA / AFP)
Colombia
Colombian President Ivan Duque announced on Saturday that the national COVID-19 health emergency will be extended until Feb 28, 2022.
Duque explained that the measure was adopted "by virtue of the existence of a global pandemic that also allows the country to continue taking all precautionary measures and care for the protection of Colombian lives."
He added that prevention and control measures will also be applied to passengers coming from Africa who transit through Europe, Brazil or the United States and present symptoms of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa.
"People who have been in Africa in the last 15 days and present any symptoms must inform Colombian authorities and must quarantine," Duque said.
The president also announced that fully-vaccinated certification against COVID-19 to enter public and crowded places will be postponed until Dec 14 from Dec 1 as scheduled.
Switzerland
More than half the Swiss population, or 53.1 percent, favors a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, according to a poll for the SonntagsBlick newspaper. Plus, almost two-thirds of the 1,003 people questioned support imposing further restrictions on the unvaccinated.
The results come as voters decide Sunday whether measures the government took to help fight the pandemic, including the COVID-19 certificate, are here to stay. The passes — which show if someone has been vaccinated, tested or has recovered from the coronavirus — have provoked occasionally violent demonstrations.
Tunisia
The Tunisian Ministry of Health announced on Saturday new measures for arrivals from abroad to prevent the spread of the new variant of COVID-19 Omicron in the country.
All arrivals must present a certificate of completion of the vaccination or a vaccination pass. This decision involves all non-resident passengers over the age of 18, said a ministry statement.
Arrivals over six years old must present a negative PCR test result within 48 hours before take-off.
The Tunisian health authorities have also imposed a 10-day confinement in one of the designated centers, for Tunisians as well as foreigners residing in Tunisia who have not yet completed their vaccination.
All arrivals must immediately carry out a rapid test to detect COVID-19.
According to the latest figures released by the ministry on Saturday, 175 new COVID-19 cases were reported, raising the tally in the North African country to 717,163.
