| Passengers wait for COVID tests before traveling today from O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters President Biden restricted air travel from southern Africa beginning Monday in fear of Omicron — the new COVID variant that was first reported by South Africa and just got its official name this afternoon. - Biden called it "a precautionary measure until we have more information."
- The U.S. is banning travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are exempt.
What we know: The World Health Organization, which gave the Greek-alphabet name to the B.1.1.529 variant, said: "This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suspended travel from southern Africa.
What markets think: Stock tumbled in Asia, Europe and the United States. - The Dow closed with its worst day of 2021 and its biggest drop since October 2020 — down 905 points, or 2.5%. The S&P fell 2.3%.
- Oil plunged.
What we don't know: Whether Omicron is a major public health threat. Some previous variants, including Beta, concerned scientists but didn't spread effectively, AP reports. Threat level: Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, said on CNBC that while other variants have come and gone, this one "cannot be ignored … We haven't seen another variant outcompete Delta this effectively." - Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, speaking later on CNBC, said closing down travel in a wholesale fashion is a "big mistake." He said it makes no sense to punish South Africa economically for being quick to detect and report the variant.
What's next: Anthony Fauci told CNN that U.S. scientists are talking to South African scientists to learn the variant's molecular makeup, so the U.S. can test for it. - That will help scientists predict how well current vaccines will protect against the variant, CNN noted.
Go deeper: Omicron explainer (Reuters). | 
No comments:
Post a Comment