World Health Organization advisers are holding a special session on Friday to discuss a worrying new version of the coronavirus that has emerged in South Africa, although its impact on COVID-19 vaccines has been known for weeks. Can’t walk.
Highlight
- UK bans flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries
- Fauci said US public health officials were talking with South African allies on Friday.
- The new version also added to the concerns of investors
The discovery of a new COVID-19 variant with multiple mutations in South Africa sent the world into a rage again. Many countries have already banned travel to and from these countries.
The WHO’s technical working group was to meet on Friday to assess the new version – currently recognized as B.1.1.1.529 – and decide whether to give it a name from the Greek alphabet. It says coronavirus infections jumped 11% over the past week in Europe, the only region in the world where COVID-19 continues to rise.
EU bans travel from South Africa
The 27-nation European Union imposed a temporary ban on air travel from southern Africa, and stocks fell in Asia, Europe and the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,000 points. The S&P 500 index was down 2.3% for the worst day since February. The price of oil fell about 12%.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said flights would have to remain suspended “until we have a clear understanding of the danger posed by this new version, and passengers returning from the region would be subject to strict quarantine rules”. Must be respected.”
She stressed extreme caution, warning that “mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more related forms of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months.”
Belgium became the first EU country to announce the case for the variant.
The UK banned flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries at noon on Friday and announced that anyone who has recently arrived from those countries will be asked to undergo a coronavirus test.
Germany said its flight ban could be implemented from Friday night itself. Spahn said flights returning from South Africa would only be able to take German nationals home, and that passengers would need to go into quarantine for 14 days, whether they have been vaccinated or not.
Germany has seen a record daily number of cases in recent days and surpassed 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday.
Italy’s health ministry announced measures over the past 14 days to ban entry into seven southern African countries – South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini. The Netherlands and the Czech Republic planned similar measures.
Showing how complicated the spread of one type can be, the Belgian case involved a traveler who returned from Egypt to Belgium on 11 November but did not become ill with mild symptoms until Monday, according to Professor Mark Van Ranst, who works for the scientist. The group overseeing the Belgian government’s COVID-19 response.
No cases in US yet: Fauci
The US government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that it has not yet been detected in the United States. Abroad, the version is “spreading quite rapidly,” he told CNN. And although it may be more permeable and resistant to vaccines than other types, “we just don’t know that for sure.”
Fauci said US public health officials were talking with South African allies on Friday. “We want to find out from scientist to scientist what’s really going on.”
Israel, one of the world’s most vaccinated countries, announced on Friday that it had also detected its first case of the new variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi. The passenger and two other suspected cases were kept in isolation. Israel said all three had been vaccinated, but officials were looking into the exact vaccination status of the passengers.
Less than 6% of people in Africa are fully immunized against COVID-19, and millions of health workers and vulnerable populations have yet to receive a single dose. Those conditions can accelerate the spread of the virus, providing more opportunities for it to develop into a dangerous form.
“This is one of the consequences of the disparity in vaccine rollout and the grabbing of surplus vaccines by rich countries will inevitably rebound on all of us,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton in the UK. , He urged the group of 20 leaders to “go beyond vague promises and actually deliver on their commitments to share supplements.”
The new version further raised investor concerns that months of progress in containing COVID-19 could be reversed.
“Investors are more likely to shoot first and ask questions later,” said Jeffrey Haley of forex broker Oanda.
In a sign of how worried Wall Street has become, the market’s so-called fear gauge known as the VIX jumped 48% to 26.91. This is the highest reading for the volatility index since January, before vaccines were widely distributed.
WHO warns against “knee-jerk reaction”.
Speaking ahead of the EU announcement, Dr Michael Ryan, the head of emergencies at the WHO, warned against a “knee-jerk reaction”.
“We’ve seen in the past, any mention of any kind of variation and everyone is closing borders and restricting travel,” Ryan said. “It’s really important that we stay open and stay focused.”
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed and strongly discouraged any travel restrictions on countries reporting the new version. It said past experience shows that such travel restrictions “have not yielded meaningful results.”
South Africa responds to EU ban
The South African government said the UK’s decision to temporarily ban the entry of South Africans “seems to have been hasty”, citing the fact that the WHO has not yet recommended next steps. .
There was no immediate indication as to whether the type was more transmissible or caused more severe disease. Like other types, some infected people show no symptoms, South African experts said. Although some of the genetic changes appear to be worrying, it was unclear whether the new variant would pose a significant threat to public health. Some previous versions, such as the beta version, initially belonged to scientists, but did not spread very far.
The Japanese government also announced that Japanese citizens traveling from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho would be quarantined in government-dedicated accommodation for 10 days and tested for COVID-19 on the third, sixth and tenth days. Will have to do Japan is not yet open to foreign nationals.
(with inputs from agencies)
Read also:How dangerous is the new covid variant found in Africa? Symptoms, treatment and all you need to know
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