Health News at Your Fingertips

Switzerland has widened quarantine requirements to stem the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant to travellers arriving from Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi, where cases have been detected, its health ministry said.
On Friday, Switzerland banned direct flights from South Africa and the surrounding region due to the detection of the new variant while also imposing restrictions on travel from other countries including Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium. Entry from those countries would only be possible for Swiss citizens or those with a residence permit in Switzerland or the broader Schengen area, Reuters reports. It did not state whether travel from those countries would be limited to Swiss citizens and residents or not.

Israel is to ban the entry of visitors from all countries due to the Omicron variant, Reuters reports.

The country’s government will also reintroduce counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology for contact testing in order to contain the spread of the new strain.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days.

Israel, the first country to shut its borders completely over the Omicron variant, has so far confirmed one case of the variant and seven other suspected cases.

Bahrain has banned entry to travellers from four more African states over the spread of Covid-19, the state news agency BNA reported.

The four additional countries are Malawi, Mozambique, Angola and Zambia, Reuters reports.

The ban excludes Bahraini citizens and those with Bahraini residency visa holders, it said.

Bahrain on Friday banned entry to travellers from South Africa and five other southern African nations.

The Barbarians have claimed a decision by Public Health England led to their rugby fixture against Samoa at Twickenham being called off 90 minutes before kick-off despite their having enough players who had returned negative tests.

A statement released by the Rugby Football Union revealed that four players and two members of staff from the invitational side had tested positive for Covid-19.

The scrapping of the game followed last year’s fixture against England being called off after 13 players broke the Covid protocols, leading to widespread condemnation of the players’ behaviour.

Saudi Arabia will allow entry to travellers “from all countries” as long as they have received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine inside the kingdom, it has said, after suspending flights from seven African countries due to the Omicron variant on Friday.
The ministry said the travellers would be allowed in from next Saturday and would need to quarantine for three days. It did not mention the flight suspensions, Reuters reports. Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to and from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini.

Dr Nathalie MacDermott, National Institute for Health Research academic clinical lecturer, King’s College London, said the detection of two individuals in England infected with the Omicron variant is unsurprising given the news of the rapid spread of the variant in southern Africa and the emergence of cases in Europe.

“The action to ban flights from the most affected countries is never a decision that should be taken lightly, but for a brief period it can buy the time needed to better understand the threat posed by this new variant and ensure the implementation of more robust identification and targeted contact tracing for individuals arriving from those countries now placed on the red list.

“The decision by the government to reimplement the need for a PCR test from all individuals arriving in the UK from abroad on day two, with self-isolation until a negative test is reported, while frustrating for those travelling, is essential in order to rapidly identify cases of infection with the Omicron variant and implement prompt isolation and targeted contact tracing to limit the spread of the variant in the UK.

“The decision to implement a requirement to wear face masks on public transport and in shops is welcomed, and while it is not yet a requirement to wear them in other environments, the British public would be wise to consider wearing them in all circumstances when they are indoors with gatherings of anyone other than close family and friends.”

Less than a week ago, UK cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi took to the airwaves to predict that such was the progress of the vaccine programme, Britain would be the first big country to use vaccines to end the pandemic. Hours after he made those comments, scientists 9,000 miles away detected a worrying Covid variant that, just days later, prompted Boris Johnson to announce emergency measures that he had hoped would never be reintroduced.

The speed at which Omicron’s initial discovery has led to the detection of cases around the world and the imposition of new restrictions has been startling. It is also a sign of desperation in Downing Street to avoid a lapse back into more severe restrictions, such as those the prime minister was forced to introduce – with great reluctance – last Christmas.

Some more details have emerged about the Omicron cases in Bavaria, Germany.

The two people with the variant entered Germany at Munich airport on 24 November, before South Africa was designated a virus variant area, and were now isolating, said Bavaria’s health ministry.

The two had come forward for further investigations after they heard about the new variant, Reuters reports.

The Bavarian ministry said anyone who had been in South Africa in the last 14 days should immediately reduce contacts, take a PCR test and contact their local health authority.

“Bavaria has responded early and quickly to the very new variant,” a ministry spokesperson said.

“Everything must be done to stop it spreading.”

Of passengers arriving from Cape Town on Friday, 50 are in quarantine in Bavaria.

Earlier, officials in the western state of Hesse, home to Frankfurt airport which is one of Europe’s busiest airports, said a suspected case of the Omicron variant had been found in a passenger arriving from South Africa.

An update on an earlier story from the Netherlands. Some of the 61 Covid-19 cases detected among a group of passengers that arrived in the Netherlands from South Africa this week are likely to be the Omicron variant, health authorities said.

“In a number of the tested persons the Omicron variant is presumed to have been found,” the Netherlands Institute for Health (RIVM) said.

A spokesperson for the RIVM said it was “almost certain” the cases were of the new variant but further testing is needed, Reuters reports.

Lyn Rickman and her family were hoping to travel across the ditch from Australia to visit her daughter Ellie, who lives in New Zealand and is due to graduate in Auckland at the beginning of May.

Rickman is one of many Australians frustrated by New Zealand’s gradual border reopening timeline, which keeps Australians out until at least 30 April.

Under the plan, fully vaccinated New Zealanders currently in Australia will be able to return home without quarantine from 17 January.

But fully vaccinated non-citizens won’t be able to enter the country until 30 April next year, and they will still need to isolate for a week.

Kuwait is to suspend direct flights from nine African countries from Sunday due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus discovered in South Africa, the government communication centre said.

The countries are South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zambia and Malawi, Reuters reports.

A case of the Omicron variant has been detected in Italy, Reuters reports.

The genome was sequenced at the Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Virology and Bioemergency Diagnostics of the Sacco Hospital in Milan from a positive sample of a patient coming from Mozambique.

The patient and his family contacts were in good health, the ISS said, adding that the sequence of the sample, “attributable to the one now known as variant of concern (VOC) and defined yesterday by WHO as Omicron”, was in the process of further confirmation.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, welcomed the UK government’s decision to impose tighter restrictions on face masks.

He wrote on Twitter: “Today’s announcement that face coverings will be compulsory on public transport nationwide, as they already are across TfL [Transport for London], is welcome.

“Evidence shows they help stop the virus spreading, and this is a measure I’ve repeatedly urged the Government to take.”

Here is the full story on the UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, announcing fresh measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, including mandatory masks in shops and PCR tests for travellers entering the country after two cases of the Omicron variant were detected.

Johnson said anyone arriving in the UK will be asked to take a PCR test for Covid-19 on the second day and must self-isolate until they provide a negative test. The rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport will also be tightened, he said.

Contacts of all confirmed cases of people infected with the Omicron variant will have to self-isolate for 10 days. Health officials are also examining the case for widening access to the booster vaccine programme, he added.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state department have advised against travel to eight southern African countries due to the Omicron variant, Reuters reports.

The CDC raised its travel recommendation to “Level Four: Very High” for South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana while the state department issued parallel “Do Not Travel” advisories on Saturday.

The Welsh government has confirmed it will introduce the same measures on international travel as announced on Saturday by Boris Johnson, PA reports.

A spokesperson said: “We have repeatedly raised our concerns with the UK Government about its decision to relax international travel rules quickly, precisely because of the risk of introducing new variants into the UK. We also warned against the removal of PCR tests for returning travellers.

We will be introducing the same measures on international travel as those announced this afternoon by the UK Government and the other devolved governments.

“The emergence of this new variant is a serious development in the ongoing pandemic and reinforces the need for everyone in Wales to get their vaccine or booster when offered, wear face coverings when necessary, and book a test if they develop symptoms.”