JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — Chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) said most patients infected with Omicron COVID-19 variant got mild symptoms, while the unvaccinated patients showed relatively severe symptoms. Angelique Cootze, who has treated 70 patients diagnosed with the new variant, said she has seen most patients with mild symptoms such as … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 6, 2021 (AFP) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged citizens to get vaccinated as the country battles an unprecedented surge in cases driven by the new Omicron variant. The number of daily infections rose five-fold in the space of a week, from 2,828 on November 26 to 16,055 last Friday. About … Read more
LONDON, Dec 6, 2021 (AFP) – The lead developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine warned the next pandemic could be “more lethal”, urging better preparedness in a speech set to be aired Monday. Sarah Gilbert, who is credited with saving millions of lives through her role in designing the jab, said the world must build on … Read more
LONDON, Dec 5, 2021 (AFP) – The UK government has announced that those travelling into the country will need to show a negative coronavirus test pre-departure as it reintroduces Covid-19 restrictions due to the Omicron variant. From 0400 GMT on Tuesday, anyone travelling to the UK will have to show evidence of a negative lateral flow … Read more
BANGKOK, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — Thailand said Monday that the country has found its first case of Omicron variant of COVID-19 after confirming that a U.S. visitor arriving from Spain tested positive. The 35-year-old traveler, flying from Spain by transiting through Dubai, entered with a negative RT-PCR test, but on-arrival test returned a positive result … Read more
BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — As the heavily mutated COVID-19 Omicron variant sounds a global alarm, China said it will stick to its strict anti-virus policy, taking all necessary measures to eliminate infections before the new virus variant could wreak havoc. Cases of Omicron, a “variant of concern” according to the World Health Organization (WHO), … Read more
GENEVA, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – The World Health Organization said Friday it had not seen any reports of deaths relating to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. The WHO said it was collecting evidence about the variant of concern, as countries around the world scramble to stop it spreading. But despite a growing number of countries reporting … Read more
TOKYO: Gennady Golovkin’s world title fight against Ryota Murata in Japan was Friday postponed “to next spring”, over a ban on new foreign arrivals to the country prompted by the Omicron variant. The hard-hitting Kazakh boxer was set to return to the ring after a year’s absence with a unification bout against Japanese WBA super-titlist Murata … Read more
OSLO, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – At least 17 people who came down with Covid-19 after a Christmas party gathering over 100 guests in Oslo last week are suspected of having the Omicron variant, city officials said on Friday. “So far 60 people have tested positive (for Covid) with PCR tests, and four with antigen tests. … Read more
NAIROBI, Dec 2, 2021 (AFP) – The African Union’s health watchdog on Thursday appealed for calm over Omicron, the new, heavily mutated Covid-19 variant which has prompted many governments to impose new restrictions. The new variant was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa a week ago, and has quickly showed up across … Read more
LONDON, Dec 2, 2021 (AFP) – British regulators on Thursday approved GlaxoSmithKline drug sotrovimab to treat those at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms, with the manufacturer saying it “retains activity” against the new Omicron variant. The monoclonal antibody “was found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death in … Read more
RIYADH, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) — Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday the detection of its first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The variant was detected for an inbound citizen coming from a North African country, the Saudi Health Ministry said, adding that the infected one was quarantined and those close … Read more
WASHINGTON: Just as it was recovering from the body blow of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economy has taken yet another hit from the omicron variant of the virus, which has led to a raft of new travel restrictions. First reported to the World Health Organization in South Africa less than a week ago, the … Read more
TOKYO – Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday as scientists raced to learn more about the new Omicron Covid variant that has prompted countries to strengthen border control efforts. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.30 percent, or 374.67 points, to 28,376.95 in early trade. The broader Topix index slipped 1.43 percent, or 28.32 points, … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, 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 … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Asad Umar on Monday asserted that the only way to tackle the threat of the new Omicron variant was to delay the arrival of the virus in Pakistan by taking prompt actions and re-intensify the vaccination campaign across the country by utilizing extra resources. “The vaccination process was already going on but now we … Read more
THE HAGUE, Dutch health authorities said Saturday that 61 passengers from two flights from South Africa tested positive for Covid-19 and the results were being examined for the new Omicron variant. The people who tested positive were now being quarantined in a hotel near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, where the 600 people on board the two planes from … Read more
