Thirteen cases have been detected in the Netherlands as the Omicron variant has been rolled out by Reuters

By Elizabeth Piper and Toby Sterling

LONDON / AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A new variant of the Omicron coronavirus continued to spread around the world on Sunday, with 13 cases found in the Netherlands and two in Denmark and Australia, although more countries tried to seal themselves by imposing travel restrictions.

Dutch health authorities announced that 13 cases of the variant were found among passengers on flights to South Africa who arrived in Amsterdam on Friday.

Authorities tested more than 600 passengers on those two flights and found 61 cases of coronavirus, while continuing testing for the new variant.

“It is not difficult for more cases to appear in the Netherlands,” Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said at a press conference in Rotterdam. “Maybe this could be the tip of the iceberg.”

It was first found in South Africa and has now been detected in Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Botswana, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong.

The Omicron discovery, which was declared a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization last week, has sparked concern around vaccines around the world and prolonging the nearly two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

Omicron is potentially more contagious https://www.reuters.com/world/how-worried-should-we-be-about-omicron-variant-2021-11-27 than previous variants, although experts still don’t know. COVID-19 will cause more or less severe compared to other strains.

The Danish Infectious Diseases Authority said on Sunday it had registered two cases of the variant in South African travelers.

Health officials in Australia’s most populous state in New South Wales have said https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-state-edge-about-omicron-virus-variant-arrival-2021-11-27 Saturday evening in Africa in the variant that gave two positive passengers who arrived in Sydney from the south.

Austria was investigating an alleged case on Sunday and Health Minister Olivier Veran in France said it was likely the variant was already circulating there.

The countries have imposed a wave of bans or restrictions on travel to southern Africa in an attempt to stop the spread. Financial markets plunged on Friday as investors worried the variant could halt a global recovery. Oil prices fell about $ 10 a barrel.

On Sunday, most of the Gulf stock market experienced a significant decline in early trading, and the Saudi index suffered its biggest one-day decline in nearly two years.

ISRAEL MEASURES

In a major effort to keep the variant away, Israel announced https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-ban-entry-foreigners-all-countries-over-omicron-2021- 11-27 Saturday night for all foreigners it would ban entry and reintroduce anti-terrorism phone tracking technology to sustain the spread of the variant.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days. Officials hope to have more information on the effectiveness of vaccines against Omicron during that period.

Many countries are imposing or planning restrictions on travel from southern Africa. The South African government complained on Saturday that it could be unfair and detrimental to its economy – saying it is being punished for its scientific ability to identify early variants of coronavirus.

In the UK, two Omicron cases identified on Saturday were linked to travel to South Africa, the government announced measures to try to sustain the expansion, including stricter testing rules for people arriving in the country and demanding the wearing of masks in some settings.

British Health Minister Sajid Javid said on Sunday he hoped to receive immediate advice from the government to expand a program to provide booster shots to fully embedded people in an attempt to weaken the effect of the variant.

The German state of Bavaria also reported two confirmed cases of the variant on Saturday. In Italy, the National Institutes of Health said they had detected a case of a new variant in Milan in a person from Mozambique.

Chinese respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan said it may take some time to reach a conclusion about the harmfulness of the new variant, state television reported on Sunday.

VACCINE DIFFERENCES

Although epidemiologists say it may be too late to stop traveling Omicron, many countries – including the United States, Brazil, Canada, European Union nations, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and Thailand – have announced travel bans or restrictions in southern Africa.

On Sunday, more countries imposed such restrictions, including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Mexican Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez Gatell said travel restrictions are nothing short of a response to the new variant, and said the measures taken by some countries are “disproportionate”.

“It has not been shown to be more virulent or to prevent the immune response caused by vaccines. It affects people’s economy and well-being,” he said in a message on Twitter (NYSE 🙂 on Saturday.

Omicron was created because many European countries are facing the rise of COVID-19 infections, and some have re-imposed restrictions on social activity in an attempt to stop the spread.

The new variant has also focused on large differences in vaccine rates around the world. Although many developed countries are providing third-dose promoters, less than 7% of people in low-income countries have received the first shot of COVID-19, according to medical and human rights groups.

Seth Berkley, co-director of the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, which co-leads the COVAX initiative with the WHO, said it was essential to promote the correct distribution of vaccines so that more variants of the coronavirus could emerge.

“Although we need to know more about Omicron, we know that while large parts of the world’s population are unvaccinated, the variant will continue to appear and the pandemic will continue to spread,” he told Reuters. on Saturday.