New ‘omicron’ COVID variant discovered; the United States and European Union move to restrict travel from eight nations in southern Africa as stock markets fall

AP Photo/Denis Farrell

As President Biden has noted, it is time for some of these other countries to step up their efforts to contain this plague. Notice I said ‘contain,’ because there is no hope now of actually eradicating it, thanks to those who have spent this entire pandemic whining about their freedom instead of following necessary protocol. From the AP - 

The White House said the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region beginning Monday. It did not give details except to say the restrictions will not apply to returning U.S. citizens or permanent residents, who will continue to be required to test negative before their travel. 

Medical experts, including the WHO, warned against any overreaction before the variant that originated in southern Africa was better understood. But a jittery world feared the worst nearly two years after COVID-19 emerged and triggered a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people around the globe. 

“We must move quickly and at the earliest possible moment,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers. 

There was no immediate indication whether the variant causes more severe disease. As with other variants, some infected people display no symptoms, South African experts said. The WHO panel drew from the Greek alphabet in naming the variant omicron, as it has done with earlier, major variants of the virus. (Read more)

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