Omicron variant: more countries tighten travel restrictions

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Omicron variant: more countries tighten travel restrictions

More countries have put travel restrictions on visitors from other parts of the world in order to try to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid 19 as China pledged to send 600 m vaccine doses to Africa.

As the number of cases of Omicron continued to grow around the world, Hong Kong widened its ban on non-residents entering the city on Tuesday to include visitors who have been to Australia, Canada, Israel or six European countries in the past 21 days. Non-resident arrivals from four southern African nations have already been barred.

Ecuador has been tightening the border by imposing entry restrictions on passengers flying from or via a number of African countries. President Guillermo Lasso said late on Monday that it would request vaccine certificates from those arriving from other countries due to the new Omicron strain of coronaviruses.

On Monday, Xi Jinping made a video speech to the opening ceremony of a China-Africa forum on economic cooperation in Senegal. He said China would supply 1 bn doses in all. The other 400 m are going to come through other routes such as production by Chinese companies in Africa.

We need to put people and their lives first, be guided by science, support waiver of intellectual property rights on Covid 19 vaccines, and ensure access and affordability of vaccines in Africa to bridge the immunisation gap, Xi said.

After recent falls in values due to concerns about Omicron, Asian stock markets made a good recovery on Tuesday. The Nikkei in Tokyo led the way by lifting 0.5%, while the ASX 200 was up more than 1% in Sydney.

President Joe Biden said Omicron was a cause for concern, not a cause for panic as the US imposed restrictions on travel from South Africa and several other countries.

Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated, including booster shots, as it was the best protection against the new variant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot.

Canada saw two more cases on Monday, taking its total to five. The prime minister, Justin Trudeau, appealed to the public to make sure they were vaccinated.

Trudeau said on Monday night that getting vaccinated is the best thing you can do right now.

If you don't have your shots yet, get them. Make sure you get your kids vaccinated, because we have enough vaccine doses for every kid between the ages of 5 and 11 to get their first shot. Around 500,000 jabs a day were administered by the UK government in order to restore its vaccination program to the levels seen earlier in the pandemic. Ministers cut the waiting time for boosters to three months in a bid to beat the Omicron variant that scientists believe is already spreading in the community.

On Monday, there were 11 confirmed cases of Omicron in England and Scotland, with hundreds more expected in the coming days. Masks will be mandatory on public transport, including airports and stations, and shops, from Tuesday onwards.

Two arrivals into Australia have tested positive for Omicron, becoming the first cases in the country. After arriving in Sydney from Johannesburg via Qatar on Saturday, the pair are in quarantine.

Two travellers who were positive for Omicron in Sydney transited through Changi Airport on Tuesday, according to authorities in Singapore. After returning to Australia from southern Africa last week, a fifth person is self-isolating with the Omicron strain.

A person has tested positive for Omicron on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, according to an official researcher on the island. The 35-year-old person had recently travelled to Mozambique.