That’s it from me, Samantha Lock, reporting to you from Sydney, Australia.
Thanks for following along – this blog is now closed.
We have opened a new blog here.
Summary
It’s been a very busy day on the Covid front as countries swiftly respond to the emergence of the Omicron variant. Here’s all the main developments:
- Omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant of the coronavirus in South Africa less than four weeks after it was first detected there.
- Ministers in the UK have secured new contracts to buy 114m more Covid-19 vaccines for the next two years.
- The US will extend requirements for travellers to wear masks on aeroplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through mid-March.
- Greek lawmakers approved legislation making vaccination for Covid mandatory for all residents aged over 60. Some 17% of Greeks aged over 60 have not yet been vaccinated. They have until 16 January to get their first jabs, or will be fined 100 euros for every month they remain unvaccinated.
- The United Arab Emirates announced its first known case of the new Covid variant Omicron.
- Moderna could have a Covid booster shot targeting the Omicron variant tested and ready to file for US authorisation as soon as March, the company’s president said.
- The EU must consider mandatory vaccination, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. One-third of Europe’s 150-million population are not vaccinated.
- The US reports its first Omicron case identified in California and discovered in a traveler who returned from South Africa on 22 November and tested positive on 29 November.
- The World Health Organization urged countries to prioritise getting the unvaccinated vaccinated, both nationally and globally, rather than boosters.
- The UN condemned the travel bans implemented in response to Omicron as “unfair, punitive and ineffective”.
Omicron variant rapidly dominating in South Africa
Omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant of the coronavirus in South Africa less than four weeks after it was first detected there, Reuters reports.
Early indications suggest Omicron may be markedly more contagious than previous variants.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said early epidemiological data suggested Omicron was able to evade some immunity, but existing vaccines should still protect against severe disease and death.
It said 74% of all the virus genomes it had sequenced last month had been of the new variant, which was first found in a sample taken on Nov. 8 in Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province.
The number of new cases reported in South Africa doubled from Tuesday to Wednesday.
World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove told a briefing that data on how contagious Omicron was should be available “within days.”
Hello everyone, it’s Samantha Lock here taking over from my colleague Tom Ambrose and ready to take you through all the Covid news this Thursday.
Let’s dive in with a snap shot of the Covid situation in Australia, where I will be reporting to you from today.
Ministers in the UK have secured new contracts to buy 114m more Covid-19 vaccines for the next two years.
The deals, for 2022 and 2023, were accelerated after the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, officials said. Under the agreements, the UK will buy 54m more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 60m more doses from Moderna.
These purchases are in addition to the 35m extra Pfizer/BioNTech doses ordered in August for delivery in the second half of 2022, officials said. The UK is also still expecting 60m Novavax and 7.5m GSK/Sanofi doses in 2022.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the new deals would “future proof” the UK’s vaccine programme and ensure protection for “even more people in the years ahead”.
There remains uncertainty about further health programmes. Some experts have warned that Covid-19 will have to be kept at bay by repeated vaccine campaigns, while others have said it is too early to tell whether annual vaccine boosters will be needed.
President Joe Biden’s administration will extend requirements for travellers to wear masks on aeroplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations through mid-March to address ongoing Covid risks, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.
A formal announcement extending the requirements until 18 March is expected on Thursday, the sources said.
The White House and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) declined to comment.
TSA in August extended the transportation mask order that runs until 18 January.
Updated
In the United States, New York City’s troubled jail system is facing more turmoil with the suspension of hundreds of corrections officers for failing to meet a Tuesday night deadline to get vaccinated against Covid.
The city’s Department of Correction reported 77% of its uniformed staff had gotten at least one vaccine dose as of 5pm on Monday.
The Associated Press reported:
Corrections Department Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said Wednesday morning that about 700 jail workers who’ve applied for religious or medical exemptions can continue to work while their cases are reviewed.
City Hall officials said Wednesday afternoon that 570 workers could be put on leave without pay for failing to comply with the mandate, but they would not know the precise number until those corrections officers show up for scheduled shifts and do not show proof of vaccination.
The deadline for jail workers to be vaccinated was delayed a month because of existing staffing shortages.
Workers who haven’t applied for an exemption and who failed to show proof of vaccination by 5pm Tuesday were to be placed on unpaid leave and surrender any city-issued firearms and protective gear, officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who already imposed similar mandates for other city workers, said he expects the vaccination rate to rise as workers begin missing paychecks or their requests for an exemption are denied.
“I expect those numbers to up in a very substantial way in the days ahead,” de Blasio told reporters at a virtual news conference on Wednesday.
Brazil records 283 more Covid deaths
Brazil registered 283 Covid deaths on Wednesday and 11,413 additional cases, according to data released by the nation’s Health Ministry.
The South American country has now registered a total of 614,964 total coronavirus deaths and 22,105,872 total confirmed cases.
Greek lawmakers have approved legislation making vaccination for Covid mandatory for all residents aged over 60, to deal with an infection surge and the emergence of the Omicron variant.
The draft law backed by the centre-right government and a centre-left opposition party — but rejected by all other opposition parties — targets the country’s age group that is most vulnerable to death or intubation from the coronavirus.
Some 17% of Greeks aged over 60 have not yet been vaccinated. They have until Jan. 16 to get their first jabs, or will be fined 100 euros for every month they remain unvaccinated.
Parties that opposed the measure said it was too harsh on low-income people who don’t want to be inoculated.
The United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday its first known case of the new Covid variant Omicron, state news agency WAM reported.
The variant was detected in an African woman who had travelled from an African country and transited through an Arab country, WAM said. The woman had received both doses of the Covid vaccine.
Public health authorities have placed her in isolation, as well as those who were in contact with her, WAM reported.
The UAE is the second Gulf country to detect a case of the new variant, after Saudi Arabia announced its first case earlier on Wednesday.
My colleagues Denis Campbell and Andrew Gregory have put together a helpful Q&A about the new Covid vaccine booster drive.
It’s well worth a read to get across what is happening right now and why.
To see the full article, click the link below.
Moderna could have Omicron vaccine ready by March
Moderna could have a Covid booster shot targeting the Omicron variant tested and ready to file for US authorisation as soon as March, the company’s president said on Wednesday.
Moderna President Stephen Hoge said he believes booster shots carrying genes specifically targeting mutations in the newly-discovered Omicron variant would be the quickest way to address any anticipated reductions in vaccine efficacy it may cause.
“We’ve already started that program,” he told Reuters.
The company is also working on a multi-valent vaccine that would include up to four different coronavirus variants including Omicron.
That could take several more months, he said.
Global airlines are bracing for more volatility due to the Omicron coronavirus variant that could force them to juggle schedules and destinations at short notice and rely more on domestic markets where possible, analysts say.
Many travellers have already booked trips for the Christmas period, a peak season for airlines, but since news of the variant last week, there are growing industry concerns over a pause in future bookings and further delays to the already slow recovery in business travel.
On Wednesday, United Airlines Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby said the new variant will have a near-term impact on bookings, Reuters reported.
Fitch Ratings has lowered its global passenger traffic forecasts for 2021 and 2022, saying the emergence of new variants like Omicron highlight the likelihood that conditions would remain volatile for airlines.
“It feels a little bit like we are back to where we were a year ago and that’s not a great prospect for the industry and beyond,” Deirdre Fulton, a partner at consultancy MIDAS Aviation, said at an industry webinar.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) called for a “more measured and evidence-based” response, saying “the costs of significantly restricted global air mobility affect all countries”.
Airlines have been blaming a lack of consistent and stable health protocols as well as border restrictions for depressed international travel demand.
The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the ‘highly contagious’ Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president has said.
Ursula von der Leyen said one-third of Europe’s 150-million population were not vaccinated and it was ‘appropriate’ to discuss the issue.
Good evening, I am Tom Ambrose and will be bringing you the latest Covid news from the UK and around the world this evening.
Let’s start with some more reaction to that first Omicron case discovered in the United States earlier today.
Dr Anthony Fauci told reporters that the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on 22 November and tested positive on 29 November. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild symptoms.”
The Biden administration moved late last month to restrict travel from Southern Africa where the variant was first identified and had been widespread. Clusters of cases have also been identified in about two dozen other nations.
“We knew that it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the United States,” Fauci said.
He said the person was improving and added, “I think what’s happening now is another example of why it’s important for people to get vaccinated. But also boosting. Boosting is very important.”
Officials said they had contacted everyone who had close contact with the person and they had all tested negative.
The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the United States has been identified in California.
The identification by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) comes as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new variant of the virus.
The Biden administration moved late last month to restrict travel from southern Africa, where the variant was first identified, and had been widespread. Clusters of cases have also been identified in about two dozen other nations.
The CDC is moving to tighten US testing rules for travelers from overseas, including requiring a test for all travelers within a day of boarding a flight to the US regardless of vaccination status. It was also considering mandating post-arrival testing.
Officials said those measures would only “buy time” for the country to learn more about the new variant and to take appropriate precautions, but that given its transmissibility its arrival in the US was inevitable.
The dominant variant in the US is still the Delta strain, which emerged and spread across the country over summer.
Summary
It’s been a very busy day on the Covid blog as countries respond to the emergence of the Omicron variant. Here’s all the main stories:
- A major World Health Organization press conference urged countries to prioritise getting the unvaccinated vaccinated, both nationally and globally, rather than boosters. Officials said data on the transmissibility of Omicron is expected “within days”, and urged caution in implementing extreme measures such as travel bans and lockdowns while the picture remains uncertain.
- The UN condemned the travel bans implemented in response to Omicron as “unfair, punitive and ineffective”
- The US, Norway, Ghana and South Korea identified their first Omicron cases
- President of the European Commision, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU should consider making vaccines mandatory after Greece introduced a fine for those over 60 who refuse to get jabbed
- France and the US increased travel restrictions, while Vietnam said it would suspend flights from several southern African countries.
- Botswana, one of the first countries to detect Omicron, said nearly all the cases identified so far were mild
That’s it from me for today, thanks for following the blog. I’m handing over to Tom Ambrose now who’ll keep watch on the latest Covid developments throughout the evening.
Omicron detected in the US
CNN is reporting that Omicron has been detected in the US state of California. More to follow.
Reuters reports that this has been confirmed by the California and San Francisco departmants of public health.
#Breaking: The United States' first confirmed case of the Omicron coronavirus variant has been identified in California, @CNN reports.
— Canary Mugume (@CanaryMugume) December 1, 2021
Updated
The Omicron variant appears able to get around some immunity but vaccines should still offer protection against severe disease, according to the latest data from South Africa, where it is surpassing Delta as the dominant variant.
Reuters reports that the daily number of reported cases in South Africa doubled to 8,561 on Wednesday. It was not known how many of those were Omicron, but an official presentation said Omicron was “rapidly becoming the dominant variant”.
Omicron accounted for 74% of the 249 virus genomes sequenced in South Africa in November, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
“(The) mutation profile and epidemiological picture suggests Omicron is able to get around some of our immune protection (to cause infection) but the protection against severe disease and death from vaccines should be less affected,” the latest report from the surveillance network said.
The earliest sample in which the variant was detected was collected on 8 November in Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province, where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located. Since then, it has been detected in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Western Cape.
UN condemns Covid travel bans
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that travel restrictions imposed over Covid-19 that isolate any one country or region as “not only deeply unfair and punitive - they are ineffective.”
At a press conference, Reuters reported that Guterres said the only way to reduce the risk of transmission while allowing for travel and economic engagement was to repeatedly test travellers, “together with other appropriate and truly effective measures.”
UK registers 48,374 new cases and 171 deaths
The UK reported 48,374 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, a rise of 2% on the previous week, and 171 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, a fall of 7.8%, according to official figures.
The total number of deaths has now reached 145,140 while there have been 10.2 million positive cases, the figures showed.
Updated
Cuban health authorities said that researchers would upgrade its homegrown Covid vaccines to ensure protection against the new Omicron variant.
Reuters reports:
Vicente Verez, director of Cuba’s Finlay Institute for Vaccines, said on Tuesday on state-run media it was clear that Cuba’s Soberana vaccine would continue to provide “a certain level of protection” against Omicron, but said the extent of that protection was still uncertain.
“We decided as of last week to start developing a Soberana Plus variant having the Omicron RBD protein,” Verez said, referring to the receptor-binding domain (RBD), a key part of the virus located on its “spike”. “We have already started it, and that protein is being built at the moment.”
Some global vaccine manufacturers, including BioNTech, have expressed guarded confidence that their vaccines would offer strong protection against Omicron. Others, like Moderna, have raised the prospect of a material drop in protection.
The Biden administration intends to toughen testing requirements for international travellers coming to the US, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, Gloria Oladipo writes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a statement on Tuesday that officials are working on a plan that would require international travellers to be tested for Covid-19 within a day before their flight to the US. Currently, fully vaccinated travelers can test for Covid-19 up to three days before their trip.
Updated
South Africa’s daily reported cases of coronavirus doubled to 8,561 on Wednesday from the previous day, according to the country’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
The rate of positivity, which means the number of positive results out of total tests, shot up to 16.5% on Wednesday from 10.2% a day before, NICD said. However the number of deaths and hospitalisations did not change much.
Airline passengers arriving to Denmark from Doha or Dubai must take a mandatory Covid-19 test, a move aimed at delaying the spread of the new Omicron variant, Reuters reports.
Temporary visa holders in Australia will be cut off from their families this Christmas despite the planned easing of border restrictions, causing further agony and uncertainty, writes Christopher Knaus.
Restrictions are set to ease for some temporary visa holders in time for Christmas, including those on international skilled, student, humanitarian, working holiday and provisional family visas to allow them to leave and re-enter Australia without exemptions from 15 December. But for holders of other types of temporary visas there is still no end in sight.
Peter Beaumont, a senior global development reporter, has provided a roundup of the international picture on the spread of Omicron.
Underscoring the fast spread of the variant, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa – where Omicron was first detected – said it had now been found in five out of nine provinces, and accounted for 74% of the virus genomes sequenced in November, he wrote.
Updated
Italy reported 103 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 89 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 15,085 from 12,764.
Reuters reports that the count marks the first time Italy reported more than 100 daily coronavirus deaths since June 8.
Updated
Reuters has compiled a breakdown of where Omicron cases have been detected, and how many, by region:
Africa
Botswana 19
Ghana (unspecified number)
Mozambique 2
Nigeria 2
South Africa about 100 (reported on 26 Nov)
Americas
Brazil 3
Canada 7
Asia
Japan 2
South Korea 5
Europe
Austria 1
Denmark 5
Germany 4
Ireland 1
Italy 1
Netherlands 14
Norway 2
Portugal 13
Spain 2
Sweden 3
United Kingdom 22
Middle east
Saudi Arabia 1
Updated
WHO press conference on Omicron
The press conference has just ended, and there’s a lot to take in. Here’s a handy summary to keep you up to date:
- The WHO expects data on the transmissibility of Omicron to emerge in the coming days
- There’s promising early evidence that Omicron doesn’t cause severe illness in many people and that it does not reduce vaccine efficacy
- Travel bans and lockdowns should be implemented with caution, since they have major economic and social consequences and aren’t necessarily the most effective restrictions
- The best way to tackle Omicron is to continue with measures targeted at tackling Delta, including mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing
- Boosters are unlikely to be helpful for most people and countries should instead focus on vaccinating the unvaccinated, both nationally and internationally
- The timeline for how and where the Omicron variant emerged is likely to change as countries step up sequencing of cases logged in November
Updated
New variants will continue to emerge for as long as the virus remains in circulation, warned Van Kerkhove.
“We need to increase vaccination coverage around the world” she said, urging that countries focus on the most vulnerable.
Countries must take “proven measures” to drive transmission down rather than relying on lockdowns. She worried that travel bans could disincentivise countries from reporting the emergence of new variants.
“We are in the middle of this pandemic,” she warned.
Updated
New restrictions for non-EU arrivals in France
France is stepping up its Covid-19 booster vaccination campaign and tightening entry rules for arrivals from outside the European Union in response to the spread of the Omicron variant.
Reuters reports:
Gabriel Attal also said flights from countries in southern Africa, where the variant was first detected last week, would remain suspended until Friday. From Saturday they would resume, but only for travellers returning to their main residences, he said.
The government hopes eight million people in France will have received a third vaccine injection by the end of Wednesday, and 10 million by the end of this week.
There are about 1,100 vaccination centers in operation and the government plans to open 300 more in coming weeks, he added.
Meanwhile, all non-EU arrivals in mainland France, where the Omicron variant has yet to be detected, will henceforth have to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test regardless of their vaccination status, Attal added.
Ryan said it’s a “luxurious position” for countries to be able to offer a third booster vaccine.
Instead, he said our goal should be to protect those who haven’t received a first vaccine.
“Right now there is no evidence I‘m aware of that suggests boosting the entire population is going to provide any greater protection” against hospitalisation or death.
Swaminathan urged countries to focus on “vaccinating the unvaccinated first” before they think about boosters.
Updated
Asked about whether European countries should prepare for a lockdown Christmas, Michael Ryan, WHO executive director, said we need to be patient while we wait to find out more about the Omicron variant.
In the meantime, he encouraged governments in Europe to look at their epidemiological situation, introduce control measures, increase surveillance and testing and ensure and those who are vulnerable or at risk are offered the vaccine and that any concerns of hesitancy are addressed openly.
He urgent governments to work closely with communities rather than blaming them and to apply public health, not political, measures.
“This is not a time for governments to pass the full responsibility of containing the pandemic onto the shoulders of citizens,” he said.
Updated
Van Kerkhove said that the timeline for the emergence of Omicron is likely to change as now it’s been classified as a variant of concern, surveillance, testing and sequencing will increase.
She noted that there are a backlog of cases from November which need sequencing, which may mean that understanding of the countries in which the variant emerged, as well as when it first emerged, could change.
Updated
Chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said the greatest risk is faced by those over 45 who have co-morbidities. She said there was no evidence so far of reduced vaccine efficacy to Omicron.
Updated
Information on the transmissibility of Omicron expected within days
Asked about the profile of the Omicron variant in terms of transmissibility and severity, Van Kerkhove said:
“We don’t have all the information on transmission though there is some suggestion it’s more transmissible”. She said we should expect to have more information in days, not weeks as anticipated earlier, and that the variant could become more transmissible in future.
In terms of severity, she noted there are reports of cases that go from mild to severe disease. There’s some indication some patients are presenting with mild diseases. There’s a surveillance bias now in terms of cases reported.
She added there are increased hospitalisations across South Africa but that could be a result of the increase in overall cases, which translates into more hospitalisations.
Updated
Technical lead for Covid-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said the priority should be to “strengthen surveillance and genomic sequencing around the world” to detect the emergence of new variants.
She praised the work of institutions in southern African countries in reporting the Omicron variant so honestly and quickly.
Updated
Some modelling suggests travel bans can be helpful at beginning of outbreak to give countries more time to prepare, but they cannot stop outbreaks, according to Jaouad Mahjour, WHO assistant director general.
Tedros said the emergence of the Omicron variant “should not surprise us, this is what viruses do” and that this pattern will continue so long as the virus is allowed to spread.
There’s more to learn on its transmission, severity and the efficacy of tests, he said.
On travel bans, he said: “It’s deeply concerning to me that those countries [that first reported the variant] are now being penalised for doing the right thing.”
He warned: “Blanket travel plans will not prevent the international spread of Pmicron and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihood.”
Instead, he urged that all countries ensure that high risk individuals are fully vaccinated immediately and that all countries fund international efforts to distribute treatments and vaccinations since “globally we have a toxic mix of low vaccine coverage and very low testing”, which will continue to breed variants unless it is addressed.
He said: “We must forget we’re already dealing with a highly transmissible, dangerous variant, the Delta variant, which currently accounts for almost all cases globally. We need to use the tools we already have to prevent transmission and save lives, and in doing that we will prevent transmission and save lives from Omicron.”
Updated
World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a global accord on pandemic preparedness is a sign that world nations have “made a strong statement that health security is too important to be left to change or goodwill”.
He said the “significance of this cannot be understated” as it will strengthen cooperation between countries, similar to an earlier accord on tobacco control.
The agreement will see an intergovernmental negotiating body establish a new accord. The first meeting will be no later than the first of March 2022, and an outcome will be submitted for consideration to the World Health Assembly in 2024.
However he added there are still “differences of opinion” on what the accord should contain.
Updated
The World Health Organization is holding an important press conference at 3pm. You can tune in through the video link at the top of the page, and I’ll keep you updated on key lines as they emerge.
The Guardian’s correspondent for Greece, Turkey and Cyprus Helena Smith has more detail on the controversial new fine in Greece for citizens who refuse to be vaccinated.
Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has defended a controversial decision to impose a €100 (£85) monthly fine on citizens aged 60 and over who refuse to be vaccinated.
In an address to the Greek parliament ahead of a vote on legislation applying the penalty as of 16 January, the centre-right leader described the move as “absolutely constitutional.”
“Compulsory vaccination already has the approval of the Council of State,” he told MPS referring to the nation’s highest administrative court.
Greece is the first EU member to target a specific age group with Mitsotakis acknowledging that the decision had personally “tormented” him as a “profoundly liberal politician” who struggled with the concept of obligation.
But the data, he said, had proved implacable in terms of deaths and the pressure on the nation’s health system.
“Nine out of ten Greeks who die are over 60 years,” he told MPs, noting over half a million had resisted vaccination. “More than eight out of ten have not been inoculated.”
The spectre of the fine, in addition to compulsory rapid tests twice a week, appears to have had a dramatic effect.
In the first 24 hours since the drastic step was announced some 17,500 people in the demographic had registered for a first shot compared to an average inoculation rate among the 60 + of 2,600 a day, according to government statistics.
Updated
US airlines ordered to hand over names of all passengers coming from southern Africa
Reuters has just reported that it has had exclusive sight of a US Center for Disease Control order for all airlines to turn over the names of any passengers who have been in the eight southern African countries subject to travel restrictions.
Updated
Marcus Lamb, the co-founder of the leading US Christian TV network Daystar who railed against Covid-19 vaccines, has died of Covid-19 aged 64, Oliver Milman reports.
Lamb, who was the chief executive of the conservative network that reaches an estimated 2 billion viewers worldwide, died on Tuesday, weeks after contracting the coronavirus.
Under his leadership, Daystar aired repeated baseless anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and claims that vaccines were being used to take freedoms away from Christians. In July 2020, the network spent an hour of air time complaining about “censorship” around the pandemic and also gave an hour’s slot to Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has spread misinformation about the Covid vaccine.
Covid vaccines have been repeatedly found to be safe and effective at preventing severe illness from the virus. Evangelical Christians have been getting the vaccines at lower rates than the general US population, however, and several prominent Christian broadcasters have died of the virus in recent months.
The World Health Organization has published the full text of director general Tedros Adhanom’s speech at the world health assembly.
As well as thanking member states for their support for a new international accord on pandemic preparedness and response, Adhanom urged all countries to achieve WHO targets of vaccinating 40% of the population by the end of this year, and 70% by the middle of next year. For those countries that have already reached 70%, he asked that they swap vaccine delivery schedules with programmes that deliver vaccines to poorer countries, such as Covax and AVAT, as Switzerland has just done.
Adhanom also urged member states to remove “every barrier to scaling up vaccine production, by sharing technology and knowhow, and by supporting a waiver of intellectual property rights”.
Updated
Several countries have confirmed further Covid cases of note.
- A 29 year-old traveller arriving from Ethiopia into Sao Paulo in Brazil is the country’s third known Omicron case.
- Organisers halted a music festival for young people on the South African coast on Wednesday after 36 people tested positive for Covid-19 at the site, however it was not known whether these were infected with Omicron.
- A fully vaccinated couple in South Korea tested positive for the variant after arriving last week from Nigeria, followed by two of their family members and a friend.
Updated
An official at the World Health Organization’s eastern Mediterranean regional office said that seven countries in the region have not yet reached a threshold of 10% vaccination coverage.
These countries represent a high-risk setting for the emergence of further variants, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari told a news conference.
The region includes countries in south-east Europe, the Middle East and north Africa.
Updated
We have corrected an earlier post that stated that Nigeria had identified the Omicron variant among a sample collected in October, suggesting that the variant has been circulating for longer than previously understood. However, this has now been confirmed to be incorrect. The sample in fact contained the Delta variant.
Updated
Vietnam will suspend flights to and from seven African countries over concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Reuters reports.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has approved the suspension, Lao Dong Newspaper reported, without saying when the move will come into effect.
The health ministry on Sunday asked relevant authorities to suspend all flights to and from these countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambique.
Updated
Denmark has reported 5,120 new coronavirus cases, the country’s highest daily tally for new infections during the pandemic so far.
Updated
A top official in Botswana’s health ministry said on Tuesday that 16 out of the total 19 cases of the Omicron variant detected in the country were asymptomatic, and said it was unfair to treat the country as ground zero of the new variant.
Pamela Smith-Lawrence, acting director of health in the ministry of health and wellness, told Reuters in an interview that the majority of the 19 people who were found to be infected with the new Omicron variant have already tested negative.
While 16 people were asymptomatic, the remaining two had “very, very mild” symptoms.
Updated
Reuters is reporting a World Health Organization press conference. There will be a full update shortly, but some initial lines are already emerging:
- 24 countries have detected Omicron variants so far. Most cases are mild.
- Countries already have a lot of tools at their disposal to curb its spread, including mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing. They should be aware that travel restrictions have consequences.
- Countries should increase disease surveillance to detect Omicron early.
- There is no need to develop a new vaccine, minor adjustments to existing formulas will suffice. There is no evidence so far that there is less vaccine efficacy for Omicron.
- Some mutations indicate a risk of faster transmission.
- There’s no reason to believe the Omicron variant has a longer incubation period than others.
More to follow.
Updated
The Guardian’s Madrid correspondent, Sam Jones, has an update on the situation in Spain:
In Spain, where 89.3% of people over 12 are double-jabbed, questions are being asked over the benefits of vaccine passports, which are in use or due to be introduced in eight of Spain’s 17-self-governing regions. Experts on the interterritorial council of the national health service say that while they may help persuade people to get vaccinated, their knock-on effects may be less wide-reaching.
Reports in El País and elDiario.es quoted the experts as saying Spain’s high vaccination rate may limit their contribution to fighting the pandemic:
“In neighbouring countries where they’re being used, cases are rising at an important rate, even if it’s true that vaccine coverage is far lower than in Spain. It’s possible that the effects in Spain, where coverage is higher, could be lower. It would also be hard to measure the effectiveness of this measure.”
Members of the council also point out that being vaccinated is not the same as being immune, and suggest the use of the passes may lend people a false sense of security – especially if preventative measures are not observed inside enclosed spaces such as bars and restaurants.
However, the experts believe the use of Covid passports is more justified for people visiting hospitals and care homes, and for those working with people in vulnerable categories.
On Tuesday, the Spanish government recommended limits on the number of people at festive gatherings given “the uncertainty associated with the Omicron variant”.
Updated
Portugal’s government has said it will not hesitate to increase restrictions during the festive Christmas period if they are needed to control a recent surge in Covid-19 cases, Reuters reports.
Prime minister Antonio Costa told reporters: “We all wish that these measures are not necessary, but if they become necessary, we will take these measures.
“We must always be vigilant to take new measures, if necessary. That’s how we’ve been living for the past two years and we’ve managed to prevail, although it’s been hard for everyone.”
Despite having one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, a recent uptick of infections and the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has prompted the government to reimpose some restrictions since Wednesday.
Updated
More from Daniel on the EU press conference:
The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the “highly contagious” Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.
In a call to arms to the member states, Von der Leyen said the EU’s 27 member states should rapidly deploy booster doses and backed countries who temporarily enforced pre-travel PCR tests even within the bloc’s borders.
Asked whether she supported the Greek government in imposing a €100 (£85) monthly fine on those aged 60 and over who failed to get a Covid jab, Von der Leyen said that the spread of the disease and the lack of vaccine take up in parts of the EU meant it should be on the table as a policy response.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Von der Leyen, who practised as a doctor before her political career, said: “We have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere. And this costs … This is an enormous health cost coming along.”
She added: “How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union? This needs discussion. This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be met.”
Updated
EU should consider mandatory vaccinations, says Ursula von der Leyen
The Guardian’s Brussels bureau chief, Daniel Boffey, is at an EU press conference this afternoon.
He reports that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said mandatory vaccination in the EU should be considered as Europe is desperately battling to control the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
The commission also backed pre-travel PCR tests for travel within and outside the EU.
Updated
Ghana and South Korea announce detection of Omicron
Ghana’s health ministry said it had detected the country’s first cases of the novel Omicron variant of Covid-19 on passengers who arrived at the Kotoka International airport in Accra on 21 November.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that health authorities in South Korea had confirmed the country’s first cases.
Updated
Confusion over Covid rules and lax enforcement of mask-wearing on two KLM flights between South Africa and Europe may turned them into “super spreader events” that accelerated the distribution of the Omicron variant around the world, according to the New York Times.
In a piece trending on their site, Rome bureau chief Jason Horowitz writes that once passengers on flight KL592 and another plane arrived in Amsterdam following the detection of the Omicron variant, they endured “hours spent breathing stale air as their planes sat on the tarmac, then fighting exhaustion in crammed waiting rooms, awaiting swab results in close quarters with fellow travellers who would turn out to be infected with the new and possibly more dangerous variant”.
Possibly owing to the airport’s indecision about how to handle the arrivals, more than 60 people on that and another KLM flight from South Africa tested positive for the virus, of which 14 had Omicron. All those who tested negative were permitted to enter the Netherlands, or take connecting flights around the world.
The piece quotes an Italian virologist, Fabrizio Pregliasco, who argues that all those passengers should have been quarantined, isolated or closely monitored for 10 days. He said: “If this variant is very contagious, this flight is an explosive bomb.”
Updated
Masks, vaccines, boosters, rapid tests and anti-Covid pills will all be essential in the months ahead, writes Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine, who argues that many wealthier countries already have the tools they need to contain the spread of omicron.
Updated
The AFP has published its daily tally of global coronavirus cases, based on data from official sources.
The figures show:
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 5,214,847 people since the outbreak emerged in December 2019. At least 262,269,390 cases of coronavirus have been registered.
On Tuesday, 8,951 new deaths and 749,945 new cases were recorded worldwide.
Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were the US, with 1,809 new deaths, followed by Russia with 1,226 and Poland with 570.
The US is the worst-affected country with 780,233 deaths from 48,557,723 cases.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 614,681 deaths from 22,094,459 cases, India with 469,247 deaths from 34,596,776 cases, Mexico with 294,246 deaths from 3,887,873 cases, and Russia with 276,419 deaths from 9,669,718 cases.
The country with the highest number of deaths compared with its population is Peru with 610 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria with 408, Bosnia-Herzegovina with 384, Montenegro with 367, Republic of North Macedonia with 364, Hungary with 357 and Czech Republic with 310.
Latin America and the Caribbean overall have 1,540,938 deaths from 46,680,781 cases, Europe 1,524,902 deaths from 84,715,929 infections, and Asia 898,262 deaths from 57,244,647 cases.
The US and Canada have reported 809,913 deaths from 50,349,521 cases, Africa 222,850 deaths from 8,652,693 cases, Middle East 214,684 deaths from 14,315,007 cases, and Oceania 3,298 deaths from 310,819 cases.
Updated
Norway identifies first two Omicron cases
Norway has identified its first two cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, according to the west coast municipality of Oeygarden and the health ministry.
Reuters reports:
The two people who were infected had been on a trip to South Africa. Both of them were recovering from the infection, Oeygarden mayor Tom Georg Indrevik said in a statement.
The municipality of close to 40,000 people had recently seen a rise in infections of other variants of Covid-19, and would now further tighten its local restrictions to control the outbreak, it said.
Rachel Hall here taking over from Martin Belam on the blog for the rest of the day. I’ll be updating you on all the latest and most important global coronavirus developments, but please do get in touch if there’s anything we’ve missed, or with tips and thoughts. You can reach me at rachel.hall@theguardian.com.
Updated
Today so far
- Nigeria had confirmed its first cases of the Omicron variant.
- Germany’s state infectious disease agency reported 67,186 new cases on Wednesday, up 302 from a week ago, and 446 deaths. That is the country’s highest daily deaths figure since 18 February.
- Gernot Marx, the president of the DIVI association for intensive care medicine, warned that Germany could still have 6,000 people in intensive care by Christmas regardless of what measures are now decided by politicians.
- The European Union-wide rollout of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine version for five- to 11-year-old children will begin 13 December, one week earlier than previously planned, Germany’s health ministry said.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has said those not fully vaccinated who are vulnerable to Covid-19, including over-60s, should delay travel to areas with community transmission, as more countries imposed curbs to combat the spread of the new Omicron variant.
- WHO has also agreed to launch negotiations on an international treaty to prevent and control future pandemics. A progress report will be presented at the regular World Health Assembly annual gathering in 2023.
- Saudi Arabia has reported its first Omicron case, as has Brazil. They are the first recorded cases in the Middle East and in Latin America respectively.
- Prof Andrew Hayward, from University College London and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) in the UK, said there was a need to keep an eye on Omicron growth as “small numbers can turn to big numbers quite quickly”.
- Amid accusations that prime minister Boris Johnson broke Covid rules over Christmas parties last year, the UK’s health secretary Sajid Javid has said people should take a lateral flow test before going to Christmas parties this year, but said “People should continue to behave in the way they were planning to behave over Christmas. I don’t think there’s any need to change those plans.”
- The US is set to toughen testing requirement for all international travellers, including returning Americans and both vaccinated and unvaccinated people
- Some US Republican states are expanding unemployment benefits for employees who have been fired or quit over vaccine mandates, a move critics say in effect pays people for not getting vaccinated.
- Slovenia has halted use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine after experts confirmed a death was related to an extremely rare blood-clotting condition.
- In contrast to travel restrictions being raised elsewhere, Fiji has reopened its border to international travellers for the first time in nearly two years. The Pacific Island country is seeking to revive its dominant tourism industry. Malaysia and Uzbekistan are among countries to add new travel restrictions over Omicron today. France has decided to extend until at least Saturday its suspension of flights from southern African countries.
It is a very busy day of coronavirus news again today. If you are after UK news, then Andrew Sparrow has a combined politics and live blog today, which will take in PMQs, you can find that here:
Rachel Hall will be here shortly to take over from me, and she will continue to bring you the latest developments with Covid from around the world.
Updated
A quick snap from Reuters here that Uzbekistan has said it would suspend flights with Hong Kong, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Tanzania and South Africa from 3 December to curb the spread of Omicron.
The central Asian nation’s health ministry said residents of those nations and people who have recently visited them would be unable to enter Uzbekistan, while those arriving from Egypt, Israel, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Czech Republic would be quarantined for 10 days.
Updated
Russia on Wednesday confirmed 32,837 Covid-19 infections and 1,226 deaths. The figures remain on a gentle downward trajectory, but have not fallen to the levels authorities must have hoped for when they ordered a firebreak of a week’s paid leave for non-essential workers at the start of November to break the transmission chain in the country.
Yesterday, in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant, Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s consumer and health department advised Russians not to travel abroad for New Year holidays. President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that the government will create an updated action plan to deal with Omicron next week.
EU rollout of vaccines to children aged 5-11 will start week earlier than planned
The European Union-wide rollout of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine version for five- to 11-year-old children will begin 13 December, one week earlier than previously planned, Germany’s health ministry said.
Reuters reports Germany is due to receive 2.4m doses for use as a two-dose regimen, the ministry said, adding it has commitment on the new date from the manufacturer.
“Given the current pandemic situation, this is good news for parents and children. Many are awaiting this eagerly,” acting health minister Jens Spahn said in the statement.
A BioNTech spokesperson confirmed the earlier launch, adding it was contingent on the production batch passing quality control checks early next week.
The rollout will be brought forward without an impact on agreed delivery volumes thanks to “a massive effort”, the company added.
Updated
Some US Republican states are expanding unemployment benefits for employees who have been fired or quit over vaccine mandates, a move critics say in effect pays people for not getting vaccinated.
Four states – Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, and Kansas – have changed their rules on unemployment to include people who have been terminated or who have chosen to leave their jobs because of their employers’ vaccine policies.
The partisan divide is striking, Anne Paxton, staff attorney and policy director for the Unemployment Law Project in Washington state, told the Guardian. “It’s very hard to regard this particular move as being based on anything much more than political reasons.”
The development also comes as the new Omicron variant has emerged, triggering concern that the strain could already be inside the US. If so, it would likely see a new rise in infections in America.
There are 30 states with Republican-led legislatures that could follow suit. “I would be very surprised if it stopped at this four,” Paxton said. Missouri is contemplating similar laws, while states like Maryland are considering “mitigating factors” around unemployment and vaccine rules.
Read more of Melody Schreiber’s report here: Republicans boost benefits for workers who quit over vaccine mandates
Updated
There is more detail on the World Health Organization (WHO) agreement from Agence France-Presse. It reports that the 194 countries have agreed to establish an intergovernmental negotiating body “to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response”.
The body’s first meeting must be no later than 1 March next year to elect two co-chairs and four vice-chairs.
A progress report will be presented at the regular World Health Assembly annual gathering in 2023, with the final outcome presented for consideration at the 2024 WHA.
“We need a game-change in our global health architecture, so that the international community can respond to future pandemics collectively, effectively and immediately,” said Lotte Knudsen, the EU’s ambassador in Geneva, in a statement.
“Today’s decision of the World Health Assembly will therefore make history. The situation and our citizens demand it: we need to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response if we do not want to find ourselves in a similar situation in the future.”
Updated
An update from Geneva that the World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed to launch negotiations on an international treaty to prevent and control future pandemics.
Reuters reports the decision was adopted by consensus at WHO’s special ministerial assembly of its 194 member states, drawing applause from delegations at the end of a three-day meeting.
“The text before us is the product of extensive discussions, of frank exchanges and of compromises,” said Australia’s ambassador Sally Mansfield, who co-chaired the working group. “Let us move forward together in solidarity to do the hard work that we have ahead of us.”
Updated
Andrew Sparrow has launched our combined UK Covid and politics live blog for today. You can follow the latest news there.
I will be continuing here with the latest coronavirus developments from around the world.
Bosses of pubs, bars and restaurants across the UK are warning they are already receiving cancellations of bookings for Christmas parties amid fears about the Omicron variant and following mixed guidance over socialising during the festive season.
“We are seeing that some of the people in large organisations who organise bigger events are taking the cautious view because I guess they feel some overriding responsibility. We are not seeing that in young people,” said Hugh Osmond, the founder of Punch Taverns.
“Social interaction is, after food and water, the most important thing for a human being’s mental health,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Christmas trading is vital for hospitality venues, many of whom rely on making enough money in the festive period to get them through the leaner months at the start of the new year. The loss of a second Christmas season in a row would be extremely damaging for many businesses.
Read more of Joanna Partridge’s report here: UK hospitality firms hit by Christmas party cancellations over Omicron fears
Germany warned over intensive care capacity as Covid deaths at highest level since February
The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s state infectious disease agency, reported 67,186 new cases on Wednesday, up 302 from a week ago, and 446 deaths. That deaths figure is the country’s highest daily figure since 18 February.
Gernot Marx, the president of the DIVI association for intensive care medicine, warned that the country could still have 6,000 people in intensive care by Christmas regardless of what measures are now decided by politicians.
That compares with a previous high of 5,745 coronavirus patients in intensive care on 3 January. Germany also has fewer beds available now due to a shortage of nursing staff.
“The situation is really becoming increasingly tight,” Marx told ZDF television, calling for the government to consider a temporary lockdown. “We need to save the clinics from collapse.”
Associated Press report that four people in southern Germany have tested positive for the Omicron Covid-19 variant even though they were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the public health office in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said.
Updated
Nigeria has confirmed its first cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant among two travellers who arrived from South Africa last week, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said.
Although initial reports suggested that the NCDC had also identified the Omicron variant among a sample collected in October, Reuters confirmed that this is incorrect. The NCDC said retrospective sequencing of previously confirmed cases among travellers to Nigeria had identified the Delta variant among a sample collected in October.
Updated
As a confirmed Grinch, I wasn’t that fussed when we couldn’t have office Christmas parties last year, but it does seem to be an absolute obsession with media questioning at the moment. One of the latest to give their view in the UK is Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts. She told Sky News that some NHS organisations had asked staff “not to mix in big groups” in the run-up to Christmas.
She said this year was “very different” to last year when “it was absolutely clear that nobody was going to a Christmas party last year”, adding: “This year, we are in in a slightly different place – people will be taking their own decisions.”
PA Media quotes her going on to say:
We know that many NHS trusts, for example, are asking their staff not to mix in big groups in the run-up to Christmas because of the potential threat to their health and what they will be available to do. So they are setting one example there.
I think, at the moment, without that advice from government, I think it’s for individuals and individual organisations to think about what they will be doing in the run-up to Christmas. But it’s a really challenging and difficult one.
The thing we can encourage everyone to do is to go out and get their booster when it’s made available to them ,and to book in for that because that’s one of the best defences that we’ve got alongside wearing masks, washing your hands and also making sure you’re in ventilated rooms. Those are really, really important factors which will help stop the transmission.
Updated
A very quick snap from Reuters here that state media in Saudi Arabia are reporting that the country has detected its first Omicron case, in a traveller that they say came from a north African country.
Updated
Sajid Javid: 'We do absolutely need more volunteers' to ramp up UK booster jabs
There are a couple of more quotes here from UK health secretary Sajid Javid’s media round this morning, this time on government ambitions for the booster jab programme – including an appeal for volunteers. PA Media quotes him telling BBC Breakfast:
In the last week we had about 2.4m jabs across the UK. We are going to need to do around a million more, but I think it can be done.
Existing national vaccination centres and the hospital hubs, many of them will open for longer. Some of the people there are already committed to doing extra hours or they know where they can find the volunteers they want.
We are also going to have more pharmacies than ever before – 1,500 pharmacies across the country -– and more GPs will be involved as well. In terms of volunteers, we do absolutely need more volunteers.
Updated
Prof Andrew Hayward, from University College London and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) in the UK, said there was a need to keep an eye on Omicron growth as “small numbers can turn to big numbers quite quickly”. PA Media quotes him telling Times Radio:
The speed of increase of Omicron in South Africa was pretty extreme, particularly in the areas around Johannesburg, so we need to obviously keep an eye on it. Certainly, a number of the mutations are such that you might well predict that they would evade immunity to a certain extent and potentially be more transmissible as well.
So, nothing is certain and I think that’s why it’s very hard to really work out what a proportionate response is, because whilst we’re gathering information on this, if it is a very highly transmissible strain that escapes immunity, and doesn’t have a reduction in severity, then sort of waiting until we’ve got all the information might turn out not to be the right thing, and we might think that we should have been more intense later.
Updated
Fiji reopens borders to international travel for first time since March 2020
In contrast to most of the updates today about countries throwing up further barriers to international travel, Fiji has reopened its border to international travellers for the first time in nearly two years. The Pacific Island country is seeking to revive its dominant tourism industry.
With about 90% of all Fijian adults fully vaccinated, the Pacific Island reopened its border to tourists from a small number of countries – much to the relief of tourism operators.
“To see the Fiji Airways plane full up and for us to welcome those tourists today was so amazing. It was a great, great feeling and I’m glad to have been there personally,” James Sowane, director of the Fiji tourism company, Tewaka, told Reuters.
Tourists arriving will have to stay three nights in an approved resort and undergo rapid testing. They can move around designated areas, including bars and restaurants within the hotels, while they can embark on some day trips and activities.
Fiji shut its border to all foreign nationals in March 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19 in a bid to stop its limited medical facilities being overrun.
Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama hailed the return of tourists. “Today, we are proud and most importantly prepared to welcome the first tourists to fly to Fiji in almost two years. Our message to every fully vaccinated, Covid-tested traveller who arrives to our shores is simple: Welcome Home,” Bainimarama said in a post on Facebook.
Updated
In the UK, opposition party Labour has called for more stringent testing of international travellers. Appearing on BBC Breakfast was newly appointed shadow health secretary Wes Streeting. PA Media quotes him saying:
I don’t want people to have to change their plans for Christmas and they shouldn’t need to if the government does everything within its power to make sure that we are tackling the virus.
The booster campaign announced this week is something we welcome – we think the government can achieve around half a million booster jobs a day, especially if they use services like community pharmacies, pop-up clinics, really redoubling their effort.
But there are other things that government can do too – we don’t think it’s right that people arriving into the UK from overseas are not being tested before they leave the country of origin – it’s possible for people to travel to the airport, get on a plane, arrive in busy, crowded departure halls, get on a train or a tube or a bus back home without having had a test for a couple of days. That doesn’t make sense.
Updated
Politico’s London Playbook newsletter this morning includes some grumpy behind-the-scenes briefing from the government that everybody else involved is slowing down the rollout of the UK’s booster programme. They write:
Every minister who ever appears in public will tell you that the booster campaign is a heroic and valiant effort by the brilliant NHS to give out doses at an extraordinary rate, and so on. In reality, ministers and Whitehall officials are far less effusive behind the scenes. Playbook is told by one government insider that there is “extreme frustration” among senior ministers that the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation took so long to reduce the gap between second and third jabs from six to three months.
There are also frustrations that for all the talk of the rollout being ramped up, it hasn’t actually happened yet. Johnson announced on Saturday that he wanted the booster campaign expanded to millions more people. We are told that the decision was taken on Friday. It took until Monday for the JCVI to approve the request. Five days on from Johnson signalling the campaign would be ramped up, as of this morning NHS England still hasn’t called any new age group to come forward.
A government official tells us: “Us having no control over JCVI and NHSE has cost lives over the past year.” Another says: “We should have fixed the roof while the sun was shining and boosted everyone weeks ago. Instead we’ve waited for a new variant to come and now it’s panic stations.”
Updated
There is a little more detail here on the news of a travel ban in Malaysia. Reuters reports that the travel ban applies to eight African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, but could be extended to other nations where the variant has been detected, such as Britain and the Netherlands, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said.
Malaysia will also delay plans to set up so-called Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) with the affected countries, and reimpose quarantine requirements for Malaysian citizens and long-term residents returning from those nations, regardless of their vaccination status.
“These are just temporary measures until we find out more about the Omicron variant,” Khairy said. “The moment we believe it is safe, we will lift these measures.”
Updated
France has decided to extend until at least Saturday its suspension of flights from southern African countries, said French European affairs minister Clément Beaune.
“As of this morning, we have extended the suspension of flights from seven southern African countries until Saturday,” Reuters reports Beaune told RTL radio.
Updated
Sajid Javid: no need to change Christmas plans over Omicron variant
There have been mixed messages in the UK over how people should behave during the festive season. Yesterday UK Health Security Agency exec Dr Jenny Harries suggested everybody should try to reduce their social contacts to slow the potential spread of the new variant. Prime minister Boris Johnson very much had other ideas and was totally gung-ho for Christmas. Health secretary Sajid Javid is very much in the latter camp. He told Sky News this morning:
People should continue to behave in the way they were planning to behave over Christmas. I don’t think there’s any need to change those plans. The only changes that have been made in the last few days are the ones that might affect your international travel plans. So if someone had plans to travel, then there can be an impact there. Of course, there’s the need to self-isolate if you come into contact with someone with Omicron.
At this point in time the case numbers are very low. I think for the UK we’ve got 22 confirmed cases. That will certainly go up. I’m not worried about a “pingdemic”-type situation.
But we’ve always said, even before we knew about the variant, our “plan A”., we’ve always been clear that as you get into deeper winter, the colder darker days, the virus likes that. Not just this virus, the flu virus, they like that. And so as we do that, people should just be careful to try and figure can they ventilate the room, and just follow the current guidance.
Updated
Sajid Javid: review of Omicron rules may be sooner than three weeks
Sajid Javid has hinted this morning on Sky News that the UK government might reassess their Omicron variant rules earlier than the three-week timescale previously set out. The health secretary told Sky News:
We were confident that actually, maybe within two weeks, we can know a lot more about this. We might not even need to wait three weeks, but three weeks was I think a sensible date to set for the review, because that now that we have live samples of the virus, they’ve gone to our labs in Porton Down.
Updated
UK health secretary Sajid Javid has been on Sky News this morning. On the Omicron variant he said:
We are trying to learn more about it. And in the meantime, in the next few weeks, we want to build our defences. And our best form of defence still remains our vaccines. It’s possible of course it might be less effective. We just don’t know for sure yet. But it’s also very likely that they’ll remain effective against serious disease.
He again appealed for the UK public to take booster shots when offered, saying “We’ve all got a role to play in this, and any of your viewers, if they get the call from the NHS, then please step up, roll up your sleeves and protect yourself. This has become from a health point of view the most important thing that we can do to protect ourselves. to protect the progress that we’ve made.”
Javid also praised the response of South Africa, saying he had spoken to his counterpart there, and “I think the way South Africa has behaved is exemplary in being open and transparent about what they discovered.”
Updated
Hello, it is Martin Belam here taking over the live blog from Samantha Lock in Sydney. I’ll be bringing you the latest Covid news from around the world.
In the UK it is health secretary Sajid Javid who is doing the UK media round. I’ll have the key lines from his appearances in due course. Here’s a reminder of how things stand in the UK at the moment.
Over the last seven days there have been 300,554 new coronavirus cases recorded in the UK. Cases have increased by 1% week-on-week.
There have been 832 deaths recorded in the last week. Deaths have decreased by 14.9% week-on-week.
Hospital admissions have decreased by 7.1% week-on-week. At the latest count on the UK government’s own dashboard, there were 7,631 people in hospital in total, of whom 916 are in ventilation beds.
The World Health Organization has said those not fully vaccinated who are vulnerable to Covid-19, including over-60s, should delay travel to areas with community transmission, as more countries imposed curbs to combat the spread of the new Omicron variant.
The moves came as the WHO said “blanket bans” would not contain the strain of the virus which it previously warned presents a “very high” risk globally.
The United States will require stricter coronavirus testing at borders for all travellers, including returning Americans, amid Omicron variant concerns.
US officials will require everyone entering the country to be tested one day before boarding flights, regardless of their vaccination status or country of departure. Administration officials are also considering a requirement that all travellers get retested within three to five days of arrival. Currently those who are fully vaccinated may present a test taken within three days of boarding.
The move is part of an enhanced winter Covid strategy that the Biden administration plans to announce on Thursday.
Updated
Asian stock markets have mostly rallied in Wednesday’s session after a couple of days of shaky trade. But fears that the Omicron variant would lead to more shutdowns across the world appear to have abated a little and given a boost to investors.
The Nikkei in Tokyo is up 0.4%, the Hang Seng has lifted 1.1% and the Kospi in Seoul has soared 2.1%. Brent crude oil is also up 2.6% at $71.05.
With exchanges soon to open in Europe futures trade points to the FTSE100, German Dax and France’s CAC all opening up more than 1%. Wall Street’s S&P500 is also set to bounce by almost 1%.
European Opening Calls:#FTSE 7139 +1.12%#DAX 15288 +1.25%#CAC 6811 +1.34%#AEX 786 +1.08%#MIB 26156 +1.32%#IBEX 8400 +1.14%#OMX 2263 +0.95%#SMI 12226 +0.54%#STOXX 4118 +1.35%#IGOpeningCall
— IGSquawk (@IGSquawk) December 1, 2021
The Ukraine has recorded another 11,960 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the nation’s health ministry reported.
Almost 7 million vaccinations were given during November, the health body added.
Japan has found a second person who has tested positive with the Covid-19 Omicron variant, broadcaster FNN reported on Wednesday.
The first case of the variant was discovered in a person arriving from Namibia on Tuesday.
Updated
In case you’ve just joined us, here is a detailed summary of the key Covid developments from the past day.
Summary
- The WHO advises vulnerable, unvaccinated and over 60s, against travel in a new travel warning.
- South Korea reported a new daily record of 5,123 new Covid cases for Tuesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
- Germany reported a daily rise of 67,186 Covid cases and 446 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute of public health.
- All eligible adults in the UK should be offered a Covid booster jab by the end of January, British prime minister Boris Johnson said.
- Austria has extended its lockdown to 20 days after lawmakers voted to extend a nationwide lockdown by 10 days on Tuesday.
- Greece is set to fine people over the age of 60 who have not received a first Covid-19 shot €100 per month from 16 January.
- Slovenia has halted use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine after experts confirmed a death was related to an extremely rare blood-clotting condition.
- An expert committee voted to recommend the US Food and Drug Administration authorise Merck’s molnupiravir Covid pill for high-risk adults, the first of a new class of antiviral drug that could tackle Omicron and other variants.
- The Philippines is mulling over whether commercial establishments and employers should be required to wear face shields on top of currently mandated face masks.
- A northern Chinese city bordering Russia has halted rail imports on Wednesday over fears of a fresh cluster of Covid-19 infections as the nation records a jump in daily Covid cases.
Latest new travel curbs:
- The US is set to toughen testing requirement for all international travellers, including returning Americans and both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, entering the country. US officials will reportedly require everyone entering the country to be tested one day before boarding flights, regardless of their vaccination status or country of departure. The Biden administration is expected to make an official announcement on Thursday.
- Singapore also introduces tougher testing for all arrivals and will require mandatory PCR testing for all travellers and additional antigen rapid tests for travellers on vaccinated travel lanes.
- Hong Kong adds non-residents from Japan, Portugal and Sweden to the list of travellers unable to enter the city due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
- Canada’s mandatory vaccination for travel within and out of the country took effect from 30 November.
- Japan is set to expand its travel ban on foreigners entering the nation even further, preventing those with resident status from ten African nations including South Africa.
- Malaysia is set to temporarily ban entry of travellers from countries that have reported the Omicron variant, the health ministry has said.
New Omicron cases:
- Brazil reported its first Omicron case in Latin America.
- Japan also confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant, believed to be a Namibian diplomat in his 30s.
- Nigeria has confirmed its first cases of the Omicron variant among travellers from South Africa.
Updated
Nigeria has confirmed its first cases of the Omicron variant among travellers from South Africa, according to the centre for disease control.
“Through case and genomic surveillance at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control through its National Reference Laboratory, Nigeria confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant, also known as the B.1.1.529 lineage,” the health body said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Samples obtained for the stipulated day two test for all travellers to Nigeria were positive for this variant in three persons with history of travel to South Africa.”
Nigeria recorded 105 new cases of the coronavirus o Tuesday.
Updated
Malaysia is set to temporarily ban entry of travellers from countries that have reported the Omicron variant, the health ministry has said.
The announcement was made during a press conference about 1pm local time.
The country will also delay plans to set up so-called Vaccinated Travel Lanes with those countries, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters.
We will have more on this development shortly.
Updated
Patients who survive severe Covid are more than twice as likely to die over the following year than those who remain uninfected or experience milder virus symptoms, a new study has revealed.
The research, published in Frontiers in Medicine, suggests that serious coronavirus infections may significantly damage long-term health, showing the importance of vaccination.
The increased risk of dying was greater for patients under 65, and only 20% of the severe Covid-19 patients who died did so because of typical Covid complications, such as respiratory failure.
“We conducted a previous study that showed that patients with severe Covid-19 who recovered were at significantly greater risk of being hospitalised in the subsequent six months,” said ProfArch Mainous of the University of Florida, the lead author of the study. “This new study extended that to investigate mortality risk over the next 12 months.”
Read the full story here.
Singapore is close to vaccinating all eligible people against Covid-19, ministry of health data shows.
The city-state’s vaccination rate has risen to 96% of the eligible population with 86% of the total population having received two jabs and 87% of the total population having received at least one jab.
Authorities are now racing to administer booster shots amid concerns over the Omicron variant.
Singapore has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.
Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters
Updated
India has recorded a daily rise of 8,954 in Covid cases, according to recently released health ministry data.
The nation also saw another 267 deaths from Covid, taking the total death toll to 469,247.
Updated
The Philippines is mulling over whether commercial establishments and employers should be required to wear face shields on top of currently mandated face masks.
Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, made the remark after President Rodrigo Duterte said he recognised face shields would provide an additional layer of protection against Covid-19.
“Right now, the question is will there be any changes? I don’t know. Let’s wait. (There’s) Omicron, we will have to see where it goes. We will have to monitor developments. But right now, (the) status quo is voluntary,” acting presidential spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nogralessaid, in an interview.
The mandatory face shield policy remains in areas under alert level 5 and in areas that are closed, crowded, and where close contact (3Cs) is likely to occur, such as hospitals and other medical facilities, the Philippine News Agency reports.
“Based on our latest IATF resolutions, employers and establishments may require face shields for the protection of customers, or their clientele, or their employees,” acting presidential spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nogralessaid, in an interview.
Updated
Summary of key developments
- The WHO advises vulnerable, unvaccinated and over 60s, against travel in a new travel warning.
- South Korea reported a new daily record of 5,123 new Covid cases for Tuesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
- Germany reported a daily rise of 67,186 Covid cases and 446 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute of public health.
- The US is set to toughen testing requirement for all international travellers, including returning Americans and both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, entering the country. US officials will reportedly require everyone entering the country to be tested one day before boarding flights, regardless of their vaccination status or country of departure. The Biden administration is expected to make an official announcement on Thursday.
- Singapore also introduces tougher testing for all arrivals and will require mandatory PCR testing for all travellers and additional antigen rapid tests for travellers on vaccinated travel lanes.
- Hong Kong adds non-residents from Japan, Portugal and Sweden to the list of travellers unable to enter the city due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
- Canada’s mandatory vaccination for travel within and out of the country took effect from 30 November.
- Japan is set to expand its travel ban on foreigners entering the nation even further, preventing those with resident status from ten African nations including South Africa.
Updated
A northern Chinese city bordering Russia has halted rail imports including coal and timber on Wednesday over fears of a fresh cluster of Covid-19 infections.
Health authorities reported 91 new cases in or close to Manzhouli - a city of 231,000 in Inner Mongolia that handles more than 65% of China-Russia trade - after seeing dozens in recent days, forcing leaders to impose localised lockdowns and travel restrictions.
All of the 91 local symptomatic cases were reported in the region and marks the highest daily count since 2 November, data from the National Health Commission showed. It is also a significant jump from 21 cases a day earlier.
The aim is to “strengthen prevention and control” of the outbreak at ports and “effectively block the spread of overseas epidemics through imported goods”, the notice added.
Updated
Japan is set to expand its travel ban on foreigners entering the nation even further, preventing those with resident status from ten African nations including South Africa from entering the country “for the time being.”
The new rules will apply to foreign residents from South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Angola, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The border closing will be in effect for at least a month.
“From the view of prevention, we won’t just restrict new entry by foreigners but also returning foreigners with resident status, unless there are special extenuating circumstances,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.
“We will maintain a sense of urgency and keep track of the situation in various countries to be able to respond quickly and flexibly.”
On Monday, Japan closed its borders to all newly entering foreigners in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant. On Tuesday, Japan’s first Omicron case was discovered.
The emergence of the Omicron variant means that the Covid-19 pandemic remains the “chief source of uncertainty to the global economy and a driver of financial market volatility”, according to the ratings agency Moody’s.
Hopes that businesses might be able to return to normal operation in the coming months could be dashed by Omicron and the subsequent restrictions on travel and other freedoms already imposed by many countries around the world, the analysts said.
It could therefore increase pressure on supply chains and worsen existing shortages of labour and materials that have helped push inflation up across the world, most recently seen with Tuesday’s 4.9% inflation figure in the eurozone.
The emergence of the new variant also comes during a period of fragile economic recovery, with stretched supply chains, elevated inflation and labor market shortages,” Moody’s said.
“Business disruption resulting from the spread of the new variant could prevent supply chain stresses from easing, dampening productive capacity and stoking further cost pressures in sectors with exposure to global supply chains. On the demand side, fear of infection could prevent a large proportion of individuals from engaging in economic activity that requires close contact. Thus, demand could diminish for services ranging from hospitality to travel, at a time when holiday-related spending would usually ramp up.”
Germany is reporting a daily rise of 67,186 Covid cases and 446 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute of public health.
The figures bring the nationwide tally to 5,903,999 confirmed coronavirus cases and 101,790 deaths.
Three people who escaped an Australian Covid quarantine facility have been arrested.
Our reporter Cait Kelly from Melbourne, Australia, has the story.
Northern Territory Police arrested the trio who escaped from Darwin’s Howard Springs Covid-19 facility on Wednesday morning.
All three tested negative for Covid and have been taken into custody.
Earlier, police said the trio allegedly jumped the fence at the Centre for National Resilience just before 4.40am.
“Police and staff at the Centre for National Resilience are currently confirming the absconder’s identities prior to releasing further information,” police said.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Hong Kong will ban non-residents from entering the city from Japan, Portugal and Sweden from Friday due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
Non-Hong Kong residents who have been in the three countries in the past 21 days will not be allowed to enter the global financial hub. Residents can only board flights if fully vaccinated and will have to undergo 21-days of quarantine in a hotel at their own cost.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed late Tuesday it is working to impose stricter Covid-19 testing rules for air travellers entering the United States amid concerns about a new Covid-19 variant, Reuters reports.
The CDC confirmed in a statement it is working to revise its current Global Testing Order “for travel as we learn more about the Omicron variant; a revised order would shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travellers to one day before departure to the United States.”
Effective from today, vaccination will be required for travel within and out of Canada.
A valid Covid-19 molecular test will no longer be accepted as an alternative to vaccination unless travellers are eligible for one of the limited exemptions, such as a medical inability to be vaccinated.
As of 15 January, certain groups of travellers, who are currently exempt from entry requirements, will only be allowed to enter the country if they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for entry into Canada.
These groups include individuals travelling to reunite with family (unvaccinated children under 18 years of age will retain exemption if travelling to reunite with an immediate or extended family member who is a Canadian, permanent resident, or person registered under the Indian Act); international students who are 18 years old and older; professional and amateur athletes; individuals with a valid work permit, including temporary foreign workers (outside of those in agriculture and food processing); and essential service providers, including truck drivers.
After 15 January, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign nationals will only be allowed to enter Canada if they meet the criteria for limited exceptions, the government of Canada said in a statement.
Update: We’re introducing additional measures at our border to address the Omicron variant of concern, and to slow the spread of COVID-19 and its variants in Canada. We’ll continue to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Get the details: https://t.co/v2VKZnM7V9
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 1, 2021
Updated
Singapore introduces tougher testing for all arrivals
Singapore has announced it will require mandatory PCR testing for all travellers and additional antigen rapid tests for travellers on vaccinated travel lanes.
“To step up detection and containment of the Omicron variant until more information is available, we will enhance our testing protocols for travellers arriving in Singapore after 2 December 2021, 2359 hours (Singapore time). These enhanced measures will apply for four weeks in the first instance, and will be reviewed and extended if necessary,” the ministry of health said in a statement.
All travellers entering or transiting through Singapore, after 2 December, must undergo a pre-departure test within 2 days of their departure for Singapore and obtain a negative result. All travellers entering Singapore must undergo a Covid-19 PCR test on-arrival.
Those with confirmed cases or suspected cases of Covid-19 will no longer be able to undergo home recovery and will need to undergo quarantine at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
In response to the emergence of the potentially more contagious Omicron variant, MOH is putting in place measures to manage cases infected with the new variant, and their close contacts.
— Ministry of Health (@sporeMOH) November 30, 2021
For more info: https://t.co/PTUX8Dw9Xn pic.twitter.com/bIaZqYNr8Z
Updated
Stock markets in Asia are mixed this morning after some big losses in Europe and Wall Street on Tuesday thanks to ongoing Omicron concerns and signals from the US Federal Reserve that it is going to wind up its massive monetary stimulus more quickly than expected.
The ASX200 in Sydney was first out of the blocks and it is down 0.83% thanks to the macroeconomic concerns, and despite a better than expected 1.9% fall in GDP in the third quarter. Forecasts had pointed to 2.7%.
The Kospi is up 1% in Seoul, however, boosted by strong exports in the third quarter, and the Nikkei is also up in Tokyo. The Hang Seng is tracking to shed 0.8%at the opening shortly so it’s a score-draw on the bourses so far.
Oil prices have also suffered because of the Omicron scare, which traders fear could jeopardise the recovery of the global economy and hurt demand. Brent crude is standing at $70.57 after falling 3.91% on Tuesday.
US set to toughen testing requirement for all travellers
The US will require stricter coronavirus testing is set to be required for all travellers, including returning Americans, entering the country amid Omicron variant concerns.
The Biden administration is expected to take steps in the coming days to toughen testing requirements for international travellers to the US, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, the Associated Press reports.
The move is part of an enhanced winter Covid strategy Biden plans to announce on Thursday, the publication added.
US officials will require everyone entering the country to be tested one day before boarding flights, regardless of their vaccination status or country of departure. Administration officials are also considering a requirement that all travellers get retested within three to five days of arrival. Currently those who are fully vaccinated may present a test taken within three days of boarding.
Authorities are reportedly debating a controversial proposal to require all travellers, including US citizens, to self-quarantine for seven days, even if their test results are negative.
“CDC is evaluating how to make international travel as safe as possible, including pre-departure testing closer to the time of flight and considerations around additional post-arrival testing and self-quarantines,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday.
Updated
South Korea has reported a new daily record of 5,123 new Covid cases for Tuesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said today.
On Monday, the government shelved plans to further relax Covid-19 curbs due to the strain on its healthcare system from rising hospitalisations and deaths as well as the threat posed by the new variant.
The country is currently battling to contain a sharp rise in patients with severe Covid symptoms.
Updated
WHO advises vulnerable, unvaccinated and over 60s, against travel
The World Health Organization has issued a new travel warning to those thinking about heading abroad this holiday season.
Covid-vulnerable people, including the over-60s, should postpone plans to travel, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday as more than 50 countries rush to implement travel measures aimed at delaying the spread of the new Omicron variant.
“Persons who are unwell, or who have not been fully vaccinated or do not have proof of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and are at increased risk of developing severe disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with comorbidities that present increased risk of severe COVID-19 (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes) should be advised to postpone travel to areas with community transmission,” the WHO advised.
Updated
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be giving you a rundown of the latest updates as they happen.
The World Health Organization has issued a new travel warning to those thinking about heading abroad during the holiday season.
Covid-vulnerable people, including the over-60s, should postpone plans to travel, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday as more than 50 countries implement travel measures aimed at potentially delaying the importation of the new variant.
“Persons who are unwell or at risk of developing severe Covid-19 disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with co-morbidities (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes), should be advised to postpone travel,” said the WHO.
Greece has become the latest European nation to take a strict new stand against those who are unvaccinated by imposing a €100 per month fine for people over the age of 60 who have not received their first Covid-19 shot. The measures are set to take effect from 16 January.
Here’s a summary of all the key developments so far:
- Stricter coronavirus testing is set to be required for all travellers to the US amid Omicron variant concerns, the Washington Post reports.
- All eligible adults in the UK should be offered a Covid booster jab by the end of January, British prime minister Boris Johnson announced.
- The Omicron variant was present in Europe at least 10 days ago, according to health authorities in the Netherlands.
- Austria extends lockdown to 20 days after lawmakers voted to extend a nationwide lockdown by 10 days on Tuesday, bringing the total lockdown ending on 11 December to 20 days.
- Germany’s constitutional court has ruled that sweeping restrictions to stem Covid infections such as curfews, school closures and contact restrictions were lawful, in a decision that could pave the way for further curbs.
- Greece has said it will fine people over the age of 60 who have not received a first Covid-19 shot €100 per month from 16 January.
- All travellers entering Ireland will now have to show negative Covid tests.
- An expert committee voted to recommend the US Food and Drug Administration authorise Merck’s Covid pill for high-risk adults, the first of a new class of antiviral drug that could tackle Omicron and other variants.The drug, molnupiravir, is likely to be approved for older and more vulnerable people at greater risk of severe illness.
- Brazil reports first Omicron cases in Latin America after detecting two cases of the Omicron Covid strain on Tuesday, the country’s health regulator, Anvisa, said.
- Slovenia has halted use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine after experts confirmed a death in September was related to an extremely rare blood-clotting condition.
- Poland records highest Covid deaths since April with 526 deaths in the past 24 hours.
-
Israel’s health minister says boosters may protect against Omicron.
- The US Food & Drug Administration says it is evaluating the effectiveness of authorised Covid vaccines against the Omicron variant and expects to have more information in the next few weeks.
- Japan confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant. A Namibian diplomat in his 30s is thought to have tested positive for the variant.
Updated
