Dutch health officials have confirmed 13 cases of the coronavirus' omicron variant among travelers who arrived in the Netherlands from South Africa. The World Health Organization warns that omicron is a 'variant of concern.'
A raft of curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant’s spread also grew, with Israel deciding Sunday to bar entry to foreign nationals in the toughest move so far.have already emerged in several European countries, in Israel and in Hong Kong, just days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa.
Authorities in Australia said two overseas travelers who arrived in Sydney from Africa became the first in the country to test positive for the omicron variant. Arrivals from nine African countries are now required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival. Two German states reported a total of three cases in returning travelers over the weekend.to ban entry by foreigners and mandate quarantine for all Israelis arriving from abroad.
Many countries have restricted or banned travel from various southern African countries — among the latest New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Saudi Arabia. Places that already had imposed restrictions include Brazil, Canada, the EU, Iran, and the U.S. This goes against the advice of the World Health Organization, which has warned against any overreaction before the variant is thoroughly studied.
The United States’ top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said he would not be surprised if the omicron variant was already in the U.S., though it hasn’t yet been detected there. Italy was going through lists of airline passengers who arrived in the past two weeks after a business traveler who returned from Mozambique and landed in Rome on Nov. 11 tested positive for omicron. The Lazio region’s top health official, Alessio D’Amato, said that “controls at airports, ports and train stations have been reinforced.”
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