Existing COVID vaccines would struggle to combat the “extremely transmissible” Omicron version, according to the head of US vaccine producer Moderna, who also stated that developing a new vaccine that works will take months.
In an interview published on Tuesday, Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times that statistics on the effectiveness of current vaccines would be ready in the next two weeks.
A growing number of countries have imposed travel restrictions after the new variant with a high number of mutations was detected in South Africa last week.
On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the global risk from the spread of Omicron was “very high”.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has said the strain should be considered a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic”. No Omicron-linked deaths have been reported yet.
Here are all the latest updates.
1 min ago (09:26 GMT)
Case of new COVID Omicron variant found on French territory of Reunion
A person has tested positive for the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, official researcher Dr. Patrick Mavingui said.
Mavingui said the person was a 53-year old man who had travelled to Mozambique and made a stop-over in South Africa. The patient who returned to La Reunion some two weeks ago, is currently in isolation, Mavingui told local French media.
Health ministry data showed on Monday that France had registered its biggest jump in coronavirus-related hospital admissions since the spring.
The number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) with COVID-19 jumped by 117 to 1,749 people, the biggest increase since March-April, when the ICU number rose by more than 100 per day on several day.
14 mins ago (09:13 GMT)
Singapore to hold off further reopening to evaluate Omicron variant
Singapore will hold off on further reopening measures while it evaluates the Omicron COVID-19 variant and will boost testing of travelers and frontline workers to reduce the risk of local transmission, authorities said.
“This is a prudent thing to do for now, when we are faced with a major uncertainty,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told a media briefing on Tuesday, adding the variant had not yet been detected locally.
27 mins ago (09:00 GMT)
India promises more COVID-19 shots to Omicron-hit Africa after Chinese move
India stands ready to “expeditiously” send more COVID-19 vaccine to Africa to help fight the Omicron variant, New Delhi announced late Monday after China pledged 1 billion doses to the continent.
India and China have close ties with many African countries but Beijing has pumped much more money into the region, and on Monday promised to invest another $10 billion.
India said it had supplied more than 25 million doses of domestically made shots to 41 African countries, mostly through the global vaccine-distribution network COVAX.
“The Government of India stands ready to support the countries affected in Africa in dealing with the Omicron variant, including by supplies of Made-in-India vaccines,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
38 mins ago (08:50 GMT)
Moderna CEO says vaccines likely less effective against Omicron
The head of drugmaker Moderna said COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as they have been previously, sparking fresh worry in financial markets about the trajectory of the pandemic.
“There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is the same level . . . we had with Delta,” Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel told the Financial Times.
“I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to . . . are like ‘this is not going to be good.’”
Bancel added that the high number of mutations on the protein spike the virus uses to infect human cells meant it was likely the current crop of vaccines would need to be modified.
3 hours ago (06:55 GMT)
Hong Kong bans non-resident arrivals from 13 more countries
Hong Kong has banned non-residents from entering the city from four African countries and plans to expand that to travellers who have been to Australia, Canada, Israel and six European countries in the past 21 days due to fears over Omicron.
In a statement late on Monday, the Hong Kong government said non-residents from Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia would not be allowed to enter the global financial hub as of November 30. Residents can return if they are vaccinated but will have to quarantine for seven days in a government facility and another two weeks in a hotel at their own cost.
“Non-Hong Kong residents from these four places will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong,” the statement said. “The most stringent quarantine requirements will also be implemented on relevant inbound travellers from these places.”
Additionally, non-residents who have been to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel, and Italy in the past 21 days would not be allowed to enter the city from December 2. Vaccinated residents returning from these countries will have to do three weeks of hotel quarantine.
3 hours ago (06:43 GMT)
Fiji proceeds with border reopening despite Omicron
Fiji will press on with plans to reopen its border to international travellers on Wednesday, despite the threat from the newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant, the Pacific nation’s leader has told Parliament.
Fiji has long targeted December 1 as the day it will welcome back foreign holidaymakers to boost a tourism-reliant economy devastated since the pandemic forced borders to close in March last year.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Omicron’s recent emergence would not derail the plans and he would personally welcome the first Fiji Airways flight into Nadi from Australia on Wednesday morning.
“We are still emerging from the horrible pandemic that we suffered and are just starting to recover from its economic devastation,” he told Parliament on Monday.
“Businesses are rebuilding … and people everywhere are resuming their normal lives.
3 hours ago (06:40 GMT)
Singapore says two travellers to Sydney with Omicron transited at Changi
Singapore’s Ministry of Health says two travellers from Johannesburg, who tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant in Sydney, had transited through Changi airport.
The two individuals left Johannesburg on November 27 on a Singapore Airlines flight and arrived at Changi on the same day for their transit flight, the ministry said in a statement. Both had tested negative for COVID-19 prior to departure, it added.
The ministry said most of the travellers had remained in the transit area at Changi Airport. Of the seven who disembarked, six had been placed on a 10-day stay at home notice, while the seventh, a close contact of an infected individual on the flight, had been quarantined.
“Contact tracing is ongoing for airport staff who may have come into transient contact with the cases,” the ministry said.
3 hours ago (06:36 GMT)
Hong Kong stocks begin with further losses
Hong Kong shares dipped at the open of trade on Tuesday to extend losses stemming from the new Omicron strain that has fanned fears about the effect on the global economic recovery.
The Hang Seng Index dipped 0.29 percent, or 69.38 points, to 23,782.86.
The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.23 percent, or 8.05 points, to 3,570.75, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange gained 0.35 percent, or 8.80 points, to 2,525.73.
3 hours ago (06:35 GMT)
Australia to delay border reopening for international travellers
Australia announced that it would delay the reopening of its borders to vaccinated skilled workers, international students and other visa holders, which was set for Wednesday, due to the emerging coronavirus Omicron variant.
“The National Security Committee has taken the necessary and temporary decision to pause the next step to safely reopen Australia to international skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders from 1 December until 15 December,” a Monday evening statement by the Canberra government said.
“The reopening to travellers from Japan and the Republic of Korea will also be paused until 15 December.”
The government said the “temporary pause” would allow the country time to “gather the information we need to better understand the Omicron variant”.
