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Omicron’s global expansion calls for a delay in renewing and reopening the locks, Reuters said

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers administer COVID-19 tests at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 17, 2021 at St Vincent’s Hospital Test Clinic.

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SYDNEY (Reuters) – New Zealand delayed the reopening of its international border on Tuesday as Omicron expanded around the world as other countries reintroduced social exclusion measures.

Many nations are on high alert a few days before the Christmas and New Year celebrations, as the recent health crisis is also affecting financial markets as they fear the impact of a global economic recovery.

Omicron infections are spreading rapidly in Europe, the United States and Asia, including Japan, where a single cluster at a military base has grown to at least 180 cases.

New Zealand COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said his country was delaying the start of a gradual restoration of its border until the end of February. The government has previously said that quarantine-free travel will reopen by mid-January for Australian citizens and residents and for foreign tourists by April.

“This is certainly frustrating and will frustrate many holiday plans, but it is important to make these changes clear so that they have time to consider those plans,” Hipkins said at a news conference.

In Singapore, the health ministry was conducting tests to determine if Omicron was behind a potential case at a gym.

“With the high transmission rate and widespread coverage of many parts of the world, we should expect to find more cases of Omicron on our borders as well as in our community,” the Singapore Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

Omicron has become a major variant of lightning speed in the United States, killing an uninsulated man in Texas on Monday, authorities said. The COVID-19 test lines were crowded in New York, Washington and other U.S. cities while people were calling to find out if they were infected before the family holiday.

South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland were among the countries that in recent days have re-introduced partial or total blockades or other measures of social exclusion.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the situation was “very difficult” as hospitalization had risen sharply in London.

Asked about the government’s speculation to ban internal socialization and restrict tourism, Johnson said: “We’re looking at all sorts of things … we’re not going to rule anything out.”

In Australia, where Omicron cases have grown but hospitalizations remain relatively low, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on state and regional leaders to avoid further blockades, saying it is a personal responsibility to limit the spread of the virus.

“We need to get over the heavy hand of the government and treat Australians like adults,” he said. “We will not return to the blockades. We will move forward with this virus with common sense and responsibility.”

Several leaders and health authorities have stressed the importance of vaccination shootings to strengthen this variant.

The Omicron variant was first detected last month in South Africa and Hong Kong and has been in at least 89 countries so far.

The severity of the disease it causes is unclear, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that it is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people who have already been vaccinated or cured of COVID-19.

MARKET IMPACT

The rapid spread of the variant has sparked fears that more countries could impose economic cuts, affecting markets.

US stocks ended trading at more than 1% on Monday, with lower pressure as a result of the rise in Omicron cases, and while oil investors feared further cuts in Europe would weigh on fuel demand, lowering crude prices.

Asian stocks and oil prices rose early in trading on Tuesday, although Australian and New Zealand dollars fell. [L4N2T53RM]

The World Economic Forum postponed its annual meeting in Davos on Monday due to the expansion of Omicron, postponing the event scheduled for January to mid-2022.

More than 274 million people have been reported to be infected with coronavirus worldwide since the start of the pandemic, and more than 5.65 million people have been killed.

For many around the world, Omicron is expected to reduce traditional end-of-year celebrations.

Kim Min-song, 39, was among the customers of the Seoul barbecue restaurant on Monday, and was in a hurry to wear jackets and face masks while the house was dark.

Interactive graph of the global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/2FThSv7 in an external browser.

Eikon users can click https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1063154666 to follow up on cases.


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