Omicron Fears: UK tightens testing for travellers
Britain will require all inbound travellers to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test and arrivals from Nigeria will have to quarantine in hotels to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, Health Minister Sajid Javid said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that travel restrictions are necessary to slow the spread of Omicron while scientists work to understand more about the transmissibility and implications for vaccine effectiveness of the variant.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that the total number of confirmed Omicron cases had risen to 246 after 86 new cases were detected yesterday.
"We've kept the data under review over the last week or so since we learned about Omicron, and we're seeing increasing number of cases linked to travel," Javid said in a broadcast clip late on Saturday.
"We've always said we will act swiftly if we need to... and that's why we decided to bring in this change on pre-departure tests."
The pre-departure testing requirement will mean that, from 0400 GMT on Tuesday, all inbound travellers must take a either a PCR or a rapid lateral flow test a maximum of 48 hours before departure.
The health ministry said that the measure was justified as UKHSA analysis indicated the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant.
But British Airways said it was a "devastating blow" for the industry, while pilot union BALPA said the government was destroying confidence in air travel.
The measures will be reviewed on December 20.
Nigeria will be added to Britain's travel "red list" at 0400 GMT today. The health ministry said the vast majority of cases in Britain have clear links to overseas travel from Nigeria and South Africa, reports Reuters.
South Africa and nine other Southern African countries were added to the red list last weekend, meaning that entry is only allowed to UK citizens or residents who then must quarantine in a hotel.
In India, 17 more persons were found infected with Omicron, one in Delhi and seven in Pune city of Maharashtra state, yesterday taking the total number of patients hit by the latest variant of Covid-19 to 21, officials said.
Among those whose samples turned positive with the new variant were a 37-year-old man in the Indian capital who came from Tanzania and a 44-year old woman who travelled from Nigeria to Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune, her two daughters, her brother and his two daughters, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
A 47-year old man, who had travelled to Finland last month, was also found to be positive with Omicron near Pune, Pune health officials said.
Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain said the 37-year-old man in Delhi is admitted in a state-run hospital and has mild symptoms.
Romania, Chile and Senegal health authorities said yesterday they detected the first case of the Omicron variant in people who returned from South Africa.
South Korea yesterday reported three more Omicron variant cases, bringing its total confirmed so far to 12, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Meanwhile, Australia's medicine regulator yesterday provisionally approved the Pfizer Inc coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11, with the health minister saying the rollout could begin from January 10.
The Therapeutics Goods Administration "have made a careful, thorough assessment, determined that it is safe and effective and that it is in the interests of children and Australians for children 5 to 11 to be vaccinated," said Health Minister Greg Hunt.
In Brazil, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro canceled New Year's Eve celebrations after the country confirmed the first known cases of the Omicron variant in Latin America's biggest country.
Eduardo Paes tweeted on Saturday that he would follow the recommendations of Rio de Janeiro state to cancel the celebrations, despite the city's own view to the contrary.
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