About 56 countries were reportedly implementing travel measures to guard against Omicron as of Nov. 28
\nBERLIN\/ WASHINGTON:
\nThe United States and Germany joined countries around the globe planning stricter Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday as the new Omicron variant rattled markets, fearful it could choke a tentative economic recovery from the pandemic.
\nMuch remains unknown about Omicron, which was first found on Nov. 8 in South Africa and has spread to at least two dozen countries, just as parts of Europe are suffering a surge in infections of the better-known Delta variant as winter sets in.
\nBut South Africa said on Thursday it was seeing an increase in Covid-19 reinfections in patients contracting Omicron in a way that it did not experience with previous variants.
\n\u201cPrevious infection used to protect against Delta but now with Omicron that doesn\u2019t seem to be the case,\u201d said Professor Anne von Gottberg during an online briefing organised by the World Health Organisation.
\nOmicron could become the dominant Covid-19 variant in France by the end of January, the country\u2019s top scientific adviser said on Thursday, after both France and the United States reported their first cases.
\nIn Germany, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor, Olaf Scholz, will discuss with regional leaders restricting the unvaccinated from access to all but the most essential businesses, such as grocery stores and pharmacies.
\nEager to avoid lockdowns that could derail a fragile recovery of Europe\u2019s biggest economy, they are expected to keep businesses open to the almost 69% of the population that are fully vaccinated as well as those who have recovered from the coronavirus.
\nIn the United States, steps to fight Covid-19 this winter are set to be unveiled later on Thursday, and sources briefed on the matter told Reuters one step would be extending requirements for travellers to wear masks through mid-March.
\nBy early next week the United States will require inbound international travellers to be tested for Covid-19 within a day of departure, regardless of vaccination status.
\nAnd it will also require private health insurance companies to reimburse customers for the cost of over-the-counter at-home Covid-19 tests, which will benefit some 150 million Americans who have private health insurance, a senior administration official told reporters.
\n\u2018True enemy\u2019
\nThe first known US case was a fully vaccinated person in California who returned to the United States from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive seven days later. The French case, in the greater Paris region, was a passenger arriving from Nigeria.
\nFrench government adviser Jean-Francois Delfraissy told BFM television the \u201ctrue enemy\u201d for now was still the Delta variant, spreading in a fifth wave.
\n\u201cWe should see a progressive rise of the Omicron variant, which will take over from Delta,\u201d possibly by the end of January, he said.
\nThe French Omicron infection followed a case found in the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion last month.
\nBioNTech\u2019s CEO said the vaccine it makes in a partnership with Pfizer (PFE.N) was likely to offer strong protection against severe disease from Omicron.
\nAnd GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) said that a lab analysis of the antibody-based Covid-19 therapy it is developing with US partner Vir (VIR.O) had shown the drug is effective against the Omicron variant. read more
\nThis contrasts with Regeneron\u2019s (REGN.O) study of its Covid-19 antibody drug, which it said could be less effective against Omicron. Moderna\u2019s (MRNA.O) top boss raised similar concerns about the company\u2019s vaccine.
\nIndications suggesting Omicron may be markedly more contagious than previous variants have rattled financial markets, fearful that new restrictions could choke a tentative recovery from the economic impact of the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
About 56 countries were reportedly implementing travel measures to guard against Omicron as of Nov. 28 BERLIN\/ WASHINGTON: The United States and Germany joined countries around the globe planning stricter Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday as the new Omicron variant rattled markets, fearful it could choke a tentative economic recovery from the pandemic. Much remains unknown […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[67,959,444],"class_list":{"0":"post-230644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world","7":"tag-germany","8":"tag-omicron","9":"tag-us"},"yoast_head":"\n