Australia and the Netherlands have reported cases of the new Covid-19 variant omicron, the latest countries to confirm the presence of the new form of coronaviruses.
At a pre-departure area at the airport, passengers are tested for Covid-19. James D. Morgan is the photographer.
The images are from the same company.
The Dutch health authority said 13 people who flew into Amsterdam from South Africa tested positive for the variant.
According to the news agency, Australia and Denmark have also reported two cases.
A growing number of nations have recorded the presence of omicron, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Italy, Hong Kong, and the Czech Republic.
Canada and the European Union are two countries that have instituted travel bans from southern Africa in response to omicron.
South African authorities have complained that the country is being punished rather than being appreciated for detecting omicron, and that the travel curbs are similar to punishing South Africa for its advancedgenomics and ability to detect new variant quicker.
Continue watching after the ad Visit the Advertiser website.
The travel bans are based on politics. The co-chair of the African Union's vaccine delivery alliance said it was wrong. Africa is being locked away when the virus is on three continents.
The key background.
The World Health Organization said that omicron is of concern and that early evidence shows an increased reinfection risk. More research is needed to determine if vaccines are effective against omicron and if it is more contagious than other variants.
We don't know what we don't know.
The director of the National Institutes of Health told Fox News that it is too early to know if the new variant is mild, but that omicron has a record number of mutations. It could take weeks to figure out if vaccines are effective against it.
What to watch for.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Sunday that it is a matter of when, not if, omicron emerges in the US. He said on This Week that if and when it comes here, he hopes we will be ready by enhancing our capabilities via vaccine, masking, and other things.
The Omicron variant will be found in the U.S. Axios
There are 13 cases that have been detected in the Netherlands.
There are cases identified in Germany, Italy and the UK.
Biden limits travel from southern African countries because of fears of a new coronaviruses variant.
South Africa was punished for detecting a new variant of Omicron.
The Omicron (B. 1.1.529) variant is what we do and don't know.
Coverage and live updates on the coronaviruses.
