The Corona virus variant Omikron, which was first discovered in South Africa, is appearing in more and more countries and is putting governments on alert: After the first cases in Belgium and Israel, it was reported from Germany and Italy over the weekend. The Netherlands reported 13 cases among South African returnees on Sunday. There is a suspected case in Tyrol, there should be certainty in the next few days. Own controls were arranged at Vienna Airport.
Austrian travelers returning from South African countries must show a negative PCR test and quarantine for up to ten days. The armed forces control and keep an eye on transfer airports. It is important “to be careful now and to adhere to the protective measures,” said Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens).
AGES has set up the hotline 01/2675032 for those returning from southern Africa. Contact details and information on travel activities can also be sent by email to anfragen@ages.at. AGES employees will then contact you with information about the official PCR testing. According to the ministry, around 400 calls have been received from returnees or their relatives between Friday and Sunday noon. The hotline is manned from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Great Britain, meanwhile, tightened its entry rules for everyone, Israel will close its borders for foreigners from Sunday evening. The cases reported in Germany are two highly suspected cases in Bavaria and another in Hesse among travelers returning from South Africa. Suspected cases were also reported in Essen and Düsseldorf on Sunday. The two passengers who entered via Munich Airport on Wednesday are in domestic isolation after a positive PCR test. A full genome sequencing should now bring certainty whether it is the omicron variant. In Hesse, Omikron was detected on Sunday in the case of the fully vaccinated returnee who had entered via Frankfurt Airport. Denmark also reported two Omicron cases.
The new variant has now also been detected in a number of other countries. In Australia, two fully vaccinated passengers on a flight from South Africa tested positive for the Omikron variant, the health authorities of the state of New South Wales announced on Sunday. In the Czech Republic, a hospital confirmed the infection of a patient who had come from Namibia with the new variant. Two related Omicron cases have been discovered in the UK, according to the Department of Health.
Numerous countries, including Austria, Germany and other EU member states, have restricted air traffic with South Africa and other countries in the region. Great Britain and Israel went one step further and tightened their general entry regulations. As the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, in future all travelers will have to take a PCR test two days after their arrival in Great Britain and isolate themselves until the results are presented.
Israel will again close its borders completely to foreigners from Sunday evening. Exceptions would have to be approved by a special committee, said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office. In Israel, an omicron case has so far been confirmed in a returnees from Malawi.
While the Philippines sealed themselves off from seven European countries, including Austria, with a landing and entry ban, Morocco took an even more radical measure. In order to prevent the introduction of the new variant, all aircraft landings will be completely prohibited for two weeks from Monday.
The discovery of the new variant with the scientific name B.1.1.529 was announced in South Africa on Thursday. According to South African scientists, the variant could be even more contagious than the currently rampant Delta variant because of an unusually large number of mutations and make the vaccines less effective. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies Omikron as “worrying”.
The USA meanwhile praised South Africa for its “transparency” towards the rest of the world since the discovery of the Omikron variant. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated “the South African scientists on the rapid identification of the Omicron variant” and praised “the South African government for its transparency in the dissemination of this information”.
The South African government had previously complained about the travel bans for South Africans adopted by many countries. They boiled down to South Africa being punished for its transparency and its ability to identify new variants more quickly, the government said on Saturday.
The vaccine manufacturer Moderna, however, already started work on a vaccine against the Omikron variant on Thursday, last Thanksgiving holiday. Hundreds of his employees started working on a corresponding adaptation of the corona vaccine after the first publications about the mutant, the head of the pharmaceutical company, Paul Burton, said in a BBC interview on Sunday.