Vienna, November 28 (BNA) Britain announced testing and quarantine rules for all incoming travelers on Saturday, following the arrival of the Omicron strain of coronavirus in Europe.
“We will require anyone entering the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after arrival, and to self-isolate until the result is negative,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a press conference in London.
Britain has confirmed two cases of the variant Omicron, which is feared to have higher rates of re-infection, German news agency DPA reported.
On Friday, Belgium became the first European country to confirm the arrival of the strain B.1.1.529 on its territory.
Germany also confirmed two cases on Saturday.
Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holleczyk said two travelers entered the country by plane from South Africa on November 24.
The head of the Max von Pettenkofer Institute in the state capital, Munich, said the genome sequencing was not yet complete. “It has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that this is the alternative,” said Oliver Kepler.
Meanwhile, a lab in Italy said on Saturday it had discovered an omicron by sequencing its genome. The International Space Station’s Institute of Public Health said the sample is being studied for further confirmation.
The sample came from a person from Mozambique, who arrived in Milan by plane a few days ago, the Italian news agency (ANSA) reported.
The International Space Agency reported that she and her family members, who live in the Campania region of southern Italy, are in good health.
Omicron has been classified as a “variable of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The European Center for Disease Control has expressed serious concerns that the Omicron strain could significantly reduce the effectiveness of available vaccines and increase the risk of reinfection.
In response to the news, European Union member states agreed to suspend passenger flights from seven South African countries to contain a new, potentially more dangerous type of coronavirus. These countries are Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Swaziland.
Britain, which has also detected cases of infection, has banned flights departing from those countries.
The Gavi Vaccine Alliance said on Saturday that the emergence of a new alternative to the coronavirus is an indication of a shortage of vaccines in many parts of the world.
Gavi chief Seth Berkeley said in Geneva that as long as large parts of the world’s population remain unvaccinated, the virus can mutate, prolonging the epidemic.
“We will only be able to prevent the emergence of variants if we protect everyone in the world, not just the rich,” he added.
Omicron was first discovered in November in South Africa, where the rate of fully vaccinated adults is slowing below 36 percent.
In the European Union, by comparison, 77 percent of adults receive a full vaccination against the coronavirus.
Gavi, a partnership between public and private donors, seeks to protect people in poor countries from preventable diseases. It also leads the international Covax initiative to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to poor countries.
Covax had hoped to deliver 2 billion doses this year, but has only met a quarter of its goal so far.
MI