WHO names new covid variant ‘Omicron’, classifies it as ‘highly transmissible’ virus

A World Health Organization advisory panel classified a new COVID-19 variant as a highly contagious virus of concern in South Africa for the first time and named it “omicron’ under the Greek-letter system. Friday’s announcement by the UN health agency marks the first time in months that the WHO has classified a COVID-19 variant as such. The Delta variant, which has become the most popular in the world, is in that category.

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent chills across much of the world on Friday as countries raced to halt air travel, markets plunged sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks, which could be quite a big deal. The extent was unknown.

Medical experts, including the World Health Organization, warned against any redundancies before better understanding the version that originated in southern Africa. But nearly two years after COVID-19 emerged and sparked a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people worldwide, a panicked world feared a worst-case scenario.

“We must move quickly and as quickly as possible,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs.

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 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%.

“The last thing we need is a new version that will cause even more problems,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said. EU member states have recently experienced a huge increase in cases.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that flights will have to be suspended until we have a clear understanding of the danger posed by this new version, and passengers returning from the region must respect strict quarantine rules. should do.”

It emphasized extreme caution, warning that “the mutation 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.

“It’s a suspicious look,” Health Minister Frank Vandenbrücke said. “We don’t know if it’s a very dangerous type.”

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 don’t know this for sure yet.”

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.

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.

After a 10-hour overnight journey, passengers aboard KLM Flight 598 from Cape Town in South Africa to Amsterdam were put on a special test for four hours at the edge of the runway at Schiphol airport on Friday morning. Passengers on a flight from Johannesburg were also being isolated and tested.

“It’s ridiculous. If we hadn’t caught the dreaded bugger earlier, we’re catching it now,” said passenger Francesca de’ Medici, the Rome-based art consultant who was on the flight.

Some experts said the emergence of the variant shows how the hoarding of vaccines from wealthy countries threatens to prolong the pandemic.

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 why the grabbing of surplus vaccines by rich countries will inevitably rebound on all of us at some point,” said Michael, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Britain. Head said. of Southampton. 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 can shoot first and ask questions later until there is more information,” 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.

Speaking ahead of the EU announcement, WHO’s head of emergencies Dr. Michael Ryan warned against “knee-jerk reactions”.

“We have seen in the past, the moment there is any mention of any sort 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”.

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 to ban entry to seven southern African countries _ South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini _ over the past 14 days. The Netherlands and the Czech Republic planned similar measures.

The Japanese government announced that Japanese citizens traveling from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho will be quarantined in government-dedicated accommodation for 10 days and undergo a COVID-19 test on the third, sixth and tenth days . Japan is not yet open to foreign nationals.

The South African government said Britain’s decision to temporarily ban South Africans from entry “seems to have been hasty”, citing the fact that the WHO has not yet recommended next steps. is of.

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.”

The WHO’s technical working group was to meet on Friday to assess the new variant currently identified as B.1.1.1.529 _ and may 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.

The WHO’s Europe director, Dr. Hans Kluge, warned that without immediate measures, the continent could have an additional 700,000 deaths by spring.

Read also: South Africa Covid Edition: All about the new version B.1.1.529 that has put India on alert

latest world news