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by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO said Tuesday that those not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 who are also vulnerable to the disease, including over-60s, should put off travel to areas with community transmission. The World Health Organization also said blanket travel bans would not stop the spread of the Omicron variant. The new Covid-19 variant of concern, which the WHO says poses a “very high” risk globally, has […]
by Julie CAPELLE with AFP bureaus THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Omicron coronavirus variant was present in Europe before the first cases were reported in South Africa, new data from the Netherlands showed Tuesday, as Latin America reported its first two cases in Brazil. In the week since the new virus strain was reported to the World Health Organization by South Africa, dozens of countries around the world have responded with travel restrictions […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — World stocks and oil prices slid Tuesday after Moderna warned current vaccines might be less effective at fending off the Omicron variant, and eurozone inflation spiked to a record high. Frankfurt, London and Paris followed Asia in closing sharply lower, with sentiment dogged by fears of fresh economic fallout from the long-running Covid crisis. Wall Street saw a significant sell off after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell […]
(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration has warned airlines against allowing the boarding of passengers who are not allowed to enter the Philippines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the bureau, airlines that do this will be meted out a hefty fine. “We are conducting 100% passport inspection to ensure that we see the complete travel history of the arriving passengers,” bureau ports operation division chief Carlos Capulong said. Only recently, the Inter-Agency Task […]
Ipinahayag ni OCTA Research Fellow, Dr. Guido David, na walang dahilan para mag-panic sa banta ng Omicron variant dahil ayon sa kaniya, “wala pang kasiguraduhan na magiging threat” sa atin ang Covid-19 variant na ito. Subalit nilinaw niya na tama ang ginagawa ng gobyerno na precautions at paghahanda para sa posibleng pagpasok ng Omicron variant sa bansa katulad ng pag-i-implement ng travel ban sa mga key countries na may “high suspicion” ng presensiya ng bagong […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch health authorities said Tuesday that the new Covid-19 variant was present in the Netherlands a week earlier than previously believed and checks are underway to see how far it has spread. The RIVM National Health and Environment Institute said it “has found the corona variant Omicron in two test samples that had already been taken in the Netherlands… on November 19 and 23”. The first cases in the […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian equity and oil traders were sent running Tuesday after the head of Moderna warned current coronavirus vaccines might be less effective at fending off the Omicron variant, fuelling fears that countries could be forced back into economically painful lockdowns. Stocks had mostly been edging up after a two-day sell-off that followed news Friday of the new variant, which some observers said was overdone as billions of people have […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Existing Covid-19 jabs will struggle against the Omicron variant and it will take months to develop a new shot that works, the head of US vaccine manufacturer Moderna has told the Financial Times. Stephane Bancel told the newspaper in an interview published Tuesday that data would be available on the effectiveness of current vaccines in the next two weeks but scientists were not optimistic. “All the scientists I’ve talked […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Tuesday confirmed its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant, a day after authorities announced new Covid border restrictions. “Regarding the traveller arriving from Namibia, it was confirmed to be a case of Omicron after analysis at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases,” government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. “This is the first Omicron case confirmed in Japan,” he said, adding that the infected traveller, a man in […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Pfizer has already started working on a version of its Covid-19 vaccine specifically targeting the new Omicron variant in case the current inoculation is not effective against the latest strain, the US drugmaker’s CEO Albert Bourla said Monday. Bourla told CNBC that his company on Friday began testing the current vaccine against the Omicron variant, which was first reported in South Africa and has reignited fears of a […]
Apayao under Alert Level 3, other areas under Alert Level 2 (Eagle News) — Metro Manila will remain under an alert level 2 until December 15. According to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the following will also be under the alert level for the same period: Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao: Basilan, Cotabato City, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao. Cordillera Administrative Region: Benguet, Abra, Kalinga, Baguio […]
by Sofia CHRISTENSEN Agence France Presse JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — The newly-discovered Omicron variant is likely to fuel a surge in South Africa’s coronavirus cases that could see daily infections treble this week, a top epidemiologist warned Monday. Health monitors reported over 2,800 new infections on Sunday, up from a daily average of 500 in the previous week and 275 the week before. “We can expect that higher transmissibility is likely and so […]
