The Jakarta Post

WHO warns of ‘very high’ global risk of Omicron

Uncertainty about new variant’s severity remains

Catherine Lai

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 carries a “very high” global risk of surges, the World Health Organization warned on Monday, as more countries reported cases, prompting border closures and reviving worries about the economic recovery from a two-year pandemic.

Scientists have said it could take weeks to understand the severity of Omicron, which was first identified in southern Africa. Its emergence has caused a strong global reaction, with countries imposing travel curbs and other restrictions, worried that it could spread fast even in vaccinated populations.

Spooked investors wiped roughly US$2 trillion off the value of global stocks on Friday but financial markets were calmer on Monday, even after Japan, the world’s thirdlargest economy, said it would close its borders to foreigners.

“The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high,” the WHO advised its 194 member nations, warning of “severe consequences” in some areas.

It said no deaths linked to Omicron variant had been reported so far.

A top South African infectious disease expert said Omicron appeared to be more transmissible than previous variants, including to people with immunity from vaccination or prior infection. South African cases are likely to top 10,000 a day this week, rocketing up from 2,858 on Sunday and barely 300 a day two weeks ago, Salim Abdool Karim said.

But he added that it was too early to say whether symptoms were more severe and said existing COVID-19 vaccines were probably effective at stopping Omicron from causing severe illness.

On Sunday, a South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a new strain said Omicron appeared so far to be producing mild symptoms.

Portugal found 13 cases of the variant at a Lisbon soccer club. Scotland and Austria also reported their first Omicron cases on Monday.

A number of countries have imposed travel restrictions, including Japan, which described its action as precautionary.

“These are temporary, exceptional measures that we are taking for safety’s sake, until there is clearer information about the Omicron variant,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto said tests would determine if a traveler from Namibia was Japan’s first Omicron case.

Israel, where a ban on arrivals by foreigners took effect on Monday morning from midnight, has said it will use counterterrorism phone-tracking technology to combat the new variant.

Australia said it would review plans to reopen borders to skilled migrants and students from Dec. 1, after reporting its first Omicron cases, although Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was a “bit too early” to reinstate twoweek hotel quarantine for foreign travelers.

India has ordered COVID-19 testing at airports from Wednesday for all arrivals from “at-risk” countries.

United States President Joe Biden will provide fresh details of the variant and the response of the US on Monday, the White House said.

Travel agents in Asia said some travelers were starting to consider canceling or delaying trips, threatening the global tourist industry’s already fragile recovery.

South Africa has denounced restrictions on travel from the region as unfair and potentially harmful to the economy, saying it was being punished for its scientific ability to identify variants early.

Vaccination drive

The WHO urged members to speed vaccination of high-priority groups and ensure efforts to keep up essential health services, advising a risk-based approach to adjusting global travel curbs.

“Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations,” it said, adding: “COVID-19 cases and infections are expected in vaccinated persons, albeit in a small and predictable proportion.”

Scientists say Omicron has about double the number of mutations to the spike protein as the Delta variant that currently dominates.

The Philippines launched on Monday an ambitious drive to vaccinate 9 million people against COVID-19 in three days, deploying security forces and thousands of volunteers in a program made urgent by the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The United Kingdom, which said it would call an urgent meeting of Group of Seven health ministers on Monday, will unveil new guidance later on extending the rollout of COVID-19 booster shots to the under-40s and possibly reducing the gap between second doses and boosters.

Oil prices and European stock markets were up on Monday, recovering partly from Friday’s selloff. Markets had been expecting governments and central banks around the world to start withdrawing some of the tens of trillions of dollars meant to keep businesses and households afloat during the pandemic. Another coronavirus wave could mean more support.

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde sought to reassure investors that the eurozone could cope with another wave of the pandemic.

“There is an obvious concern about the economic recovery in 2022, but I believe we have learned a lot,” she told Italian broadcaster RAI late on Sunday. “We now know our enemy and what measures to take. We are all better equipped to respond to a risk of a fifth wave or the Omicron variant.”

With France also aiming to accelerate its vaccination campaign, President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that he had received a booster shot.

More than 261.17 million people in over 210 countries have been reported to be infected by COVID -19 since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019 and 5.46 million have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Singapore and Malaysia eased coronavirus travel restrictions on one of the world’s busiest land borders Monday after nearly two years, allowing some vaccinated people to cross without quarantine.

Before the pandemic, about 300,000 people used to commute across the border from Malaysia every day to the neighboring city-state, to work in areas ranging from public transport to electronics manufacturing.

But most travel was abruptly halted in March last year, leaving many who previously commuted, and other Malaysians in Singapore, effectively stuck there as they needed to continue working.

From Monday, vaccinated Singaporean and Malaysian citizens, those holding permanent residency status and work permits can cross the 1-kilometer causeway separating the countries without having to quarantine.

“I feel happy to be able to go back and meet my family finally after two years,” Eunice Teoh, a Malaysian getting the first bus from Singapore under the scheme, told AFP.

“I do feel a bit nervous because this is the first batch, and I’m not really sure what will happen,” added the 28-year-old, who works in finance and was heading to the Malaysian state of Pahang.

Initially, around 3,000 people a day will be able to cross using special bus services and will have to take virus tests.

Officials say the first stage is aimed at workers who have been unable to see families for some time, and they plan to expand it later to other groups.

‘Counting down the days’

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob made an official visit to the city-state to mark the start of the initiative, doing a fist-bump with Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong as they met at a border checkpoint on the causeway.

Restrictions were also eased Monday on air travel, with vaccinated people allowed to fly between the countries’ main airports without quarantining.

Christine Soong was heading from Malaysia to visit family members in Singapore.

“I have three [grandchildren] and they all miss me so much, so they’re very excited,” the 69-yearold told AFP at Kuala Lumpur airport.

“They’ve been counting down the days since we booked the flight.”

Prior to the easing of curbs, citizens and some other groups were still allowed to travel between the neighbors, but they had to quarantine on arrival.

Both Malaysia and Singapore — which were part of the same country during a stormy, twoyear union in the 1960s — have high vaccination rates.

Singapore’s outbreak has been mild by global standards, although Malaysia faced a serious wave this year driven by the Delta variant.

Malaysians have long been a key part of the workforce of wealthier Singapore, which has a population of just 5.5 million and then can typically earn higher salaries than back home.

The easing of curbs comes despite the emergence last week of the heavily mutated Omicron strain, which is starting to spread around the world.

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2021-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

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