The Omicron variant of Covid-19 exists in Europe At least 10 days ago, and seems to have spread in the Netherlands and other places.
The Dutch Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday: “We found the Omicron coronavirus variant in two test samples collected on November 19 and 23.” “It is not clear whether these people have also visited Southern Africa. ,” the ministry added.
US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, stated that although Omicron variant cases have not been found in 20 countries/regions, the total number of variant cases has reached 226 in the United States.
Fauci added that despite the emergence of new variants, evidence from South Africa (where Omicron was first discovered last week) has so far not shown any abnormal symptoms associated with it, although it is not clear whether it will cause more serious disease.
Concerns about Omicron prompted 56 countries to issue travel restrictions related to this variant.However, in the new recommendations issued on Tuesday, the world healthy The organization warned countries not to impose a “comprehensive” travel ban, but advises people who are unwell, who may have a more serious condition of Covid-19, and people over 60 years of age not to travel.
The United Nations Global Health Agency warned that a comprehensive ban would not prevent the spread of the disease and affect livelihoods. Instead, it suggested: “Measures may include screening passengers before travel and/or on arrival, and the use of SARS-COV-2 in After a thorough risk assessment, international travelers are tested or quarantined.”
The Dutch statement further confuses the timeline when the new variant first appeared in Europe. Previously, the Netherlands had stated that it had found the mutation in passengers from South Africa on Friday-but the new case was earlier than that.
The Dutch research institute RIVM stated that it found Omicron in samples from November 19 to 23. These findings predated the positive cases involving the variant found among at least 14 passengers who returned from South Africa and were tested at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol last Friday.
Further indicating that the Omicron variant may have spread in Europe, the German authorities stated that they found a man infected with Omicron, who had neither been abroad nor had contact with anyone who had been abroad.
Despite global concerns, South African doctors report that so far, patients’ symptoms are mostly mild, but they warn that it is too early. In addition, most of the new cases occur in people in their 20s and 30s, who usually do not get sick from Covid-19 like elderly patients.
As countries disclose Omicron’s scattered instances, from Scotland to Hong Kong, Japan and FranceThe behavior of the variant seems to follow previous patterns of transmission and identification, forcing the health authorities to race to catch up, and most of the cases are related to travel to Southern Africa.
The head of the EU medical institution said on Tuesday that it is ready to deal with the Omicron variant and it will take two weeks to determine whether the current Covid-19 vaccine can deal with it.