13 omicron cases in Portuguese soccer team

Portuguese wellbeing authorities said Monday they have identified 13 circumstances of omicron, the new coronavirus variant believed to be much more contagious, among group users of a expert soccer club.

The Ricardo Jorge Nationwide Wellbeing Institute claimed Monday that one of those who analyzed favourable at the Lisbon-primarily based Belenenses soccer club had lately traveled to South Africa, in which the omicron variant was to start with recognized.

The many others, nevertheless, experienced not traveled to South Africa, indicating that this could be one of the pretty initially circumstances of neighborhood transmission of the virus exterior of southern Africa.

OMICRON VARIANT POSES ‘VERY HIGH’ World-wide Chance, ‘UNPRECEDENTED Range OF SPIKE MUTATIONS’: WHO

A flight crew walk by means of the terminal at Sydney Airport, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

All those who have been in get in touch with with the constructive cases have been requested to isolate, regardless of their vaccination standing or their publicity to doable contagion, and will be on a regular basis examined for COVID-19, the institute mentioned.

As cases of a new coronavirus variant are verified around the environment, Japan introduced Monday that it will suspend entry of all international site visitors, joining an rising amount of nations that are tightening their borders as fear spreads of nonetheless one more extension of pandemic suffering.

Japan, which has but to detect any cases of the a short while ago determined omicron variant, reimposed border controls that it eased previously this month for shorter-term organization guests, foreign learners, and staff.

Inspite of the international stress, even so, researchers cautioned that it’s even now unclear whether or not omicron is far more risky than other versions of a virus that has killed far more than 5 million men and women. Some countries are continuing with earlier designs to loosen limitations, with signals of reopening in Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand.

“We are having the action as an emergency precaution to reduce a worst-situation state of affairs in Japan,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated of the evaluate that begins Tuesday. Japan has stored its border closed to overseas visitors from all nations.

Kishida urged persons to keep on carrying masks and pursuing other fundamental anti-virus actions until eventually further more particulars of the new omicron variant are known.

Kishida, whose predecessor missing his job in section for the reason that of disappointment above his dealing with of the virus, was not by yourself in picking out an intense approach until eventually aspects of what omicron can do emerge.

TWO Conditions OF OMICRON VARIANT DETECTED IN CANADA, GOVT States

Israel made the decision to bar entry to foreigners, and Morocco explained it would suspend all incoming flights for two months starting off Monday — between the most drastic of the rising raft of journey curbs being imposed by nations all-around the environment as they scrambled to slow the variant’s spread. Researchers in a number of areas — from Hong Kong to Europe to North The us — verified its existence.

On Monday, the Scottish authorities introduced the discovery of 6 new instances of the omicron variant of coronavirus, using the U.K. whole to 9. It has questioned community wellbeing authorities to undertake increased get hold of tracing in all scenarios. More than the weekend, British wellbeing authorities found three instances of the variant.

Others to report new circumstances more than the weekend have been the Netherlands, which has 13 confirmed situations, while Canada has discovered two.

In Malaysia, however, officials went forward with the partial reopening of a bridge connecting it to the island metropolis-state of Singapore. And New Zealand introduced it will continue on ideas to reopen internally just after months of shutdown, when also proscribing travel from African nations.

The Environment Health and fitness Organization, noting that the variant has previously been detected in quite a few nations around the world and that closing borders generally has a confined outcome, identified as for frontiers to continue being open.

Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Firm (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, speaks at a push meeting at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 1, 2019. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File)

The variant was determined times in the past by researchers in South Africa, and a lot about it is nevertheless unclear, which include irrespective of whether it is extra contagious, extra most likely to bring about really serious health issues, or more able to evade the safety of vaccines.

Overall health officers in Australia’s Northern Territory declared that the point out confirmed its to start with circumstance of omicron on Monday, a South African guy who flew into Darwin last Thursday. Australian Wellbeing Minister Greg Hunt said the key minister is convening the Nationwide Protection Committee to overview actions that could be taken above omicron.

In New South Wales, Leading Dominic Perrottet claimed Monday there could be a third omicron situation in his point out. Health and fitness authorities there introduced Sunday that two vacationers returning from South Africa had analyzed favourable. They have been asymptomatic and totally vaccinated. Arrivals from 9 African countries are now required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival.

New Zealand has restricted vacation from 9 southern African international locations in reaction to the omicron threat, but Primary Minister Jacinda Ardern reported she didn’t foresee any further more limitations.

And omicron has not adjusted New Zealand’s strategies to simplicity restrictions in Auckland and shift the country into a new, a lot more open up stage of its pandemic reaction, Ardern stated Monday. Bars, dining places, and fitness centers in Auckland can reopen from late Thursday, ending a coronavirus lockdown that began in August.

“We’ve arrive as a result of the previous two several years of COVID in greater condition than virtually anyplace in the world,” Ardern said, pointing to very low loss of life costs, a escalating economic system, and large vaccination rates.

Malaysians working in Singapore held joyful reunions with liked kinds right after returning to their homeland subsequent the partial reopening of a land border that was shuttered for nearly two yrs simply because of the pandemic.

Buses ferried absolutely vaccinated travellers across the Causeway Bridge that connects the island of Singapore with the Malaysian peninsula. Rigid actions incorporated pre-departure and on-arrival COVID-19 tests.

Malaysia’s overall health minister tweeted that a COVID-19 situation was detected throughout a screening, but did not elaborate. The causeway was a person of the world’s busiest land borders before the pandemic struck. Air journey also reopened with less constraints, permitting everyone who is completely vaccinated to travel quarantine-totally free concerning the two nations around the world.

Taiwan, which now has rigid border entry controls, reported it’s not scheduling to more tighten its COVID-19 border policies to defend in opposition to the omicron variant.

Taiwan requires a two-week quarantine on arrival. It also has limited the issuing of visas and now does not allow for in foreigners, other than individuals with residency permits and these who have particular circumstances.

Health and fitness Minister Chen Shih-chung stated officials are reserving rooms in federal government facilities for vacationers from nations with noted omicron circumstances. The Central Epidemic Command Middle mentioned 6 international locations as significant danger: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe.

Taiwan is bracing for a surge of visitors forward of the lunar new yr and has permitted people returning to full the two-week quarantine partly at home. Nevertheless, any person arriving is nonetheless required to stick to the full 14-day quarantine routine and face fines if they split quarantine.

North Korea, which claims no virus instances and which has taken between the world’s harshest anti-virus steps, states it is creating all-out efforts to reduce omicron from moving into the place. Numerous question its declare of remaining coronavirus-no cost. Because the commence of the pandemic, North Korea has sealed off its global borders and jetted out diplomats.

Men and women queue in line to wait for the coronavirus screening at a short-term screening clinic for the coronavirus in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. (AP Photograph/Lee Jin-person)

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the Countrywide Institutes of Wellness in the United States, in the meantime, mentioned no facts as nonetheless propose the new variant will cause additional critical ailment than previous COVID-19 variants.

“I do imagine it is more contagious when you look at how speedily it unfold via multiple districts in South Africa. It has the earmarks for that reason of getting notably most likely to unfold from a person man or woman to a further. … What we really do not know is whether or not it can compete with delta,” Collins mentioned on CNN’s “Condition of the Union.”

Collins echoed many experts in declaring the information ought to make anyone redouble their efforts to use the resources the world presently has, which includes vaccinations, booster photographs, and steps these types of as mask-putting on.

The U.S. is banning journey from South Africa and 7 other southern African countries starting Monday. “It’s heading to give us a interval of time to greatly enhance our preparedness,” the United States’ top rated infectious diseases pro, Dr. Anthony Fauci, mentioned of the ban on ABC’s “This 7 days.”

Fauci claims it will take approximately two far more weeks to have a lot more definitive information and facts on the transmissibility, severity, and other attributes of omicron, in accordance to a statement from the White Home.

South Africa’s governing administration responded angrily to the vacation bans, which it explained are “akin to punishing South Africa for its sophisticated genomic sequencing and the means to detect new variants quicker.”

David Hui, a respiratory medication pro and governing administration adviser on the pandemic in Hong Kong, explained the two persons who analyzed good there for the omicron variant experienced obtained the Pfizer vaccine and exhibited really mild indications, these types of as a sore throat.

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“Vaccines need to operate but there would be some reduction in effectiveness,” he said.

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Connected Press journalists from all-around the entire world contributed to this report.