New Covid variant Omicron

The new Omicron coronavirus variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday (Nov 28), with 13 cases found in the Netherlands and 2 each in Denmark and Australia, even as more countries tried to seal themselves off by imposing travel restrictions. Dutch health authorities announced that the 13 cases of the variant were found among passengers who were on flights from South Africa that arrived in Amsterdam last Friday.

The discovery of Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" last week by the World Health Organization (WHO), has sparked worries around the world that it could resist vaccinations and prolong the nearly 2-year Covid-19 pandemic. First discovered in South Africa, the variant has since been detected in Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong.

Omicron is potentially more contagious than previous variants, although experts do not know yet if it will cause severe Covid-19 compared to other strains. Countries have imposed a wave of travel bans or curbs on southern Africa. Financial markets dived last Friday as investors worried that the variant could stall a global recovery. Oil prices tumbled by about US$10 a barrel.

In the most far-reaching effort to keep the variant at bay, Israel announced late on Saturday that it would ban the entry of all foreigners and re-introduce counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology to contain the spread of the variant.