South African government protests: "Punished for discovering the Omicron variant"
Covid.
Ministry of Health: "Strengthen tracking against the Omicron variant"
The Omicron variant is in Europe, the first case in Belgium.
ECDC: high or very high risk
61 people who arrived in the Netherlands from South Africa are positive for Covid
Covid-19, in Belgium the first case of the South African variant confirmed in Europe
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November 27, 2021 The Omicron variant of Covid has also arrived in the United Kingdom. UK Health Minister Sajid Javid said two cases were detected in Chelmsford and Nottingham, England, where targeted tests have been ordered.
The two infected people are in isolation with their families. According to Javid, the two cases are "connected" to each other. "This is a reminder that the pandemic is far from over," explained Javid.
The Omicron variant
The new variant B.1.1.529 of Covid, identified for the first time in South Africa and designated with the name of "Omicron", has been classified as "worrying" by the World Health Organization (WHO), because, explained the responsible for managing the Covid-19 epidemic Maria Van Kerkhove, may be "at higher risk of reinfection".
"This variant has a large number of mutations and some of these mutations have worrying characteristics", added the manager, underlining that studies are underway, especially in South Africa, to better characterize the variant in terms of transmissibility. "The variant it was first reported to WHO from South Africa on November 24, 2021. The first confirmed infection of Omicron comes from a sample taken on November 9.
Cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in Israel, Botswana, Belgium and Hong Kong. Two suspected cases also in Germany and the Czech Republic.