Omicron COVID-19 variant cases identified in UK: LIVE UPDATES
Two cases of the new omicron COVID-19 variant have been identified in the United Kingdom, an official said. Germany announced Saturday that it has also detected a possible case of the variant.
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Abbott said in a statement on Saturday that they remain "confident" that their rapid and PCR tests can detect the coronavirus amid the omicron variant being detected in South Africa.
"Abbott has been intently monitoring the mutations of COVID-19 so we can ensure our tests can detect them. We have already conducted an assessment of the Omicron variant and we're confident our rapid and PCR tests can detect the virus. While the Omicron variant contains mutations to the spike protein, Abbott's rapid and PCR tests do not rely on the spike proteins to detect the virus.
"Abbott is currently manufacturing more than 100 million COVID-19 rapid and PCR tests a month to help support increased need for testing around the globe.
The process for evaluating variants and stress-testing our tests doesn't stop with the current variants. We are actively collecting real-world samples and using viral cultures to verify that our tests continually detect circulating strains because we know how important it is that our tests can detect new variants regardless of where they are found," the statement said.
Israel has approved a measure closing the country to non-citizen arrivals for two weeks due to fear of the spread of the new omicron coronavirus variant.
The Times of Israel reported Saturday that the Israeli cabinet has approved a ban on international arrivals of non-citizens for two weeks and imposed mandatory quarantine for Israeli citizens who are arriving.
"#BREAKING: No foreigners will be allowed to enter Israel in the next 2 weeks following #Omnicron variant," Israeli journalist Amichai Stein tweeted Saturday. "All Israelis returning from abroad, will need between 3-7 days quarantine."
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U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price released the following statement regarding Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken's phone call with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor.
"Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Pandor emphasized the importance of continued partnership among the United States, the African Union, South Africa, and the other impacted nations in Africa to help vaccinate populations and combat the impacts of COVID-19. The Secretary expressed appreciation for the longstanding public health cooperation between the United States and South Africa. Secretary Blinken specifically praised South Africa’s scientists for the quick identification of the Omicron variant and South Africa’s government for its transparency in sharing this information, which should serve as a model for the world," Price said.
Dutch authorities believe some of the passengers on two flights from South Africa that tested positive for coronavirus carried the omicron variant.
“In a number of the tested persons the omicron variant is presumed to have been found,” the Netherlands Institute for Health (RIVM) said in a statement. The organization warned that further testing would be needed to confirm, but it was “almost certain.”
Health personnel tested some 624 passengers who arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport Friday, but officials would not reveal the total number of omicron cases suspected on the flight.
The South African doctor who first alerted authorities to the presence of the COVID-19 omicron variant reported that it presents "unusual but mild" symptoms.
Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a board member of the South African Medical Association, first noticed otherwise healthy patients demonstrating unusual symptoms on Nov. 18.
"Their symptoms were so different and so mild from those I had treated before," Coetzee told The Telegraph.
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The White House announced the president has kept up-to-date with the latest on the COVID-19 omicron variant.
"Senior health officials and the COVID response team have been monitoring the latest updates on Omicron and in regular touch with health officials around the world," a White House statement said.
The U.S. travel restriction advising Americans "do not travel" to South Africa went into effect Saturday.
The new COVID-19 omicron variant is posing new risks for the American people as President Biden and his administration attempt to control the spread of a virus he vowed to "shut down" during the 2020 campaign.
The omicron variant, according to World Health Organization (WHO) officials, has a large number of mutations, "some of which are concerning."
On Friday, Biden restricted travel from South Africa and seven other countries over concerns of the "heavily mutated" variant, which has been identified in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
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Johnson laid out a plan to expand booster eligibility as a primary tool to combat the spread of the omicron variant in the U.K.
"We are already planning to do 6 million jabs in England alone over the next three weeks," Johnson told reporters. "And now we are looking to go further, so the Health Secretary has asked the JCVI to consider giving boosters to as wide a group as possible, as well as reducing the gap between your second dose and your booster."
The government in three weeks will review all new measures.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new travel restrictions as the United Kingdom grapples with the confirmation of multiple COVID-19 omicron variant cases.
Officials added Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia to its "red list," which requires all travelers to test before entry and quarantine upon arrival.
But Johnson announced that all travelers entering the U.K. will now need a PCR test upon entry.
"Measures at the border can only minimize the impact of the variant, not contain it," Johnson said before announcing for all residents who have made contact with a confirmed omicron case to isolate for 10 days - regardless of vaccination status.
Johnson also asked residents to "tighten up" on mask policies, announcing that masks will be compulsory in shops and on transit.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed it skipped the Greek letters "nu" and "xi" in naming its new COVID-19 variant, which it dubbed the "omicron" variant.
"'Nu' is too easily confounded with ‘new,’ and ‘X' was not used because it is a common last name, and WHO best practices for naming disease suggest avoiding ‘causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups,’" a WHO spokesperson told Fox News in a statement on Saturday.
The move did not go unnoticed by pundits and politicians on social media — some of whom criticized the decision while others praised it.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday morning that he would not be shocked to learn that the COVID-19 omicron variant is already in the U.S.
In an interview on NBC's "Weekend TODAY" show, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director told co-hosts Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander that the strain has a large number of mutations that would suggest it could potentially evade immune protection and that scientists can predict it will be more transmissible.
"We don't know that yet, but you have to be careful and assume that that's the case. It also has a bunch of mutations that would suggest it could evade the protection, for example, of monoclonal antibodies and perhaps even convalescent plasma for people who've been infected and recovered and possibly vaccine. These are all ‘maybes,’ but the suggestion is enough," he said.
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Dutch authorities are checking for the omicron variant after 61 passengers on two flights from South Africa tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
The passengers who tested positive have been isolated and further investigations are being carried out.
The planes arrived in the Netherlands from Johannesburg and Cape Town shortly after the Dutch government – like many other nations – imposed a travel ban from southern African nations.
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Germany announced Saturday that it has detected a possible case of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
Kai Klose, social affairs minister in the western state of Hesse, tweeted that “several mutations typical of Omicron were found on a returnee from South Africa.” The person in question is isolating while the government sequences the virus to confirm whether or not it is the new variant.
Klose urged any visitor from southern Africa in the past week to isolate and get tested.
South Korea has joined the growing list of countries that have added travel restrictions for visitors arriving from eight southern African countries after health officials identified the new COVID-19 omicron variant.
The South Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency advised that any South Korean citizens returning from South Africa, Bostwana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi will need to quarantine. The agency will also limit new visas to people traveling from those countries.
The restrictions will take effect starting Nov. 28.
Two cases of the new omicron COVID-19 variant have been identified in the United Kingdom, an official said.
"The two cases are linked and there is a connection with travel to southern Africa," said Member of Parliament Sajid Javid.
Javid said the two individuals are isolating and that more testing and contact tracing is underway.
The UK banned travel from southern Africa nations Friday.
Makary on 'Fox & Friends.'
Anti-COVID-19 treatments from Merck and Pfizer would be effective against the omicron variant, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary told "Fox & Friends."
"Therapeutics are massively understated here," said Makary, adding that if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the Merck drug on Tuesday, it could be available to consumers two weeks from now.
No cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant have yet been identified in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday night.
"We expect Omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the U.S.," the CDC said.
The CDC thanked the South African government for disclosing the variant to the World Health Organization, which labeled it a "variant of concern" on Friday. The CDC also encouraged people to get vaccinated as the best way to protect themselves from COVID-19.
"We are working with other U.S. and global public health and industry partners to learn more about this variant, as we continue to monitor its path," the CDC said.
People line up to get on an overseas flight at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
Sixty-one passengers who landed from South Africa in the Netherlands have tested positive for COVID-19, and officials there are seeking to determine whether any of the infections are new omicron variant, the Associated Press reports.
South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla called travel restrictions from the country by the United States and other nations "unjustified."
“Covid-19 is a global health emergency," the health minister said, according to CNBC. "We must work together, not punish each other. Witch hunts don’t benefit anyone. South Africa wants to be an honest player in the world, to share health info not just of benefit to South Africans and citizens of the world.”
Phaahla said South Africa was being blamed for the new variant after scientists in the country identified it on Thursday. The variant has caused a surge of cases in South Africa.
Counties in Europe and Asia have also restricted travel from southern Africa.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency order on Friday in response to the identification of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
The emergency order is intended to increase hospital capacity in New York and will last until at least Jan. 15, when it will be reassessed.
According to a copy of the order, the state will utilize the "surge and flex system," which allows the Department of Health to limit non-essential and non-urgent hospital procedures in situations where a hospital has less than 10% staffed bed capacity.
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The United States will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries starting Monday over concerns of the "heavily mutated" COVID-19 omicron variant, senior administration officials said.
The Biden administration will follow advice from Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and restrict travel from several African nations following the identification of variant B.1.1.529, which appears to be highly contagious among young people.
"This morning I was briefed by my chief medical advisor, Dr. Tony Fauci, and the members of our COVID response team, about the Omicron variant, which is spreading through Southern Africa," Biden said in a statement. As a precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering additional air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries. These new restrictions will take effect on November 29."
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