The dangers of the COVID-19 Omicron “variant of concern” should not totally clear, however governments should not ready round to search out out.
A brand new coronavirus variant recognized in South Africa is resulting in a brand new spherical of journey restrictions simply as many had lastly begun to ease. The dangers of the variant, known as omicron, are largely unknown. However, the World Well being Group has known as it a “variant of concern” and governments world wide should not ready for scientists to raised perceive the variant to impose flight bans and different journey restrictions.
On Friday, European Union nations agreed to impose a ban on journey from southern Africa to counter its unfold. The 27-nation bloc acted inside hours upon the recommendation of the EU govt, which stated all nations wanted to be further cautious in coping with the variant till it was clear how severe a risk the variant posed.
The U.Ok. additionally banned flights from South Africa and 5 different southern African nations and introduced that anybody who had just lately arrived from these nations could be requested to take a coronavirus take a look at.
In response, the USA joined the European Union and a number of other different nations in instituting journey restrictions on guests from southern Africa.
The strikes have renewed a debate over whether or not flight bans and different journey restrictions work to stop the unfold of recent variants. Some say at finest the restrictions should buy time for brand spanking new public well being measures to be put in place. At worst, they do little to cease the unfold and provides a false sense of safety.
The Africa Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention stated it strongly discouraged imposing journey bans on individuals coming from nations the place the variant was reported.
DO TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS?
They may purchase nations extra time to hurry up vaccination and introduce different measures, like masking and social distancing, however they’re extremely unlikely to stop the entry of recent variants, stated Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious ailments on the College of Edinburgh.
“Journey restrictions can delay however not stop the unfold of a extremely transmissible variant,” he stated.
Johns Hopkins College infectious illness specialist Dr. Amesh Adalja says the journey restrictions solely give the general public a false sense of safety and may cease being the “knee-jerk” response by public officers. Adalja famous imposing restrictions makes politicians “look as in the event that they’re doing one thing” however does not make sense when nations now have countermeasures comparable to speedy checks and vaccines.
In the meantime, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell instructed a neighborhood information company stated he doesn’t imagine {that a} journey ban would have any main impact, apart from for nations with direct flights to the affected areas.
“It’s principally unimaginable to maintain observe of all journey flows,” Tegnell instructed the Expressen newspaper.
COULD IT BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME?
Jeffrey Barrett, director of COVID-19 Genetics on the Wellcome Sanger Institute, thought that the early detection of the brand new variant may imply restrictions taken now would have a much bigger impression than when the delta variant first emerged.
“The surveillance is so good in South Africa and different close by nations that they discovered this (new variant), understood it was an issue and instructed the world very quick about it,” he stated. “We could also be at an earlier level with this new variant so there should still be time to do one thing about it.”
Nonetheless, Barrett stated harsh restrictions could be counter-productive and that the South African officers shouldn’t be punished for alerting the world to the brand new variant. “They’ve accomplished the world a service and we should assist them, not penalize them for this.”
WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE SAY?
Sharon Peacock, who has led the genetic sequencing in Britain on the College of Cambridge, stated any selections to limit journey had been political selections, not scientific ones. She emphasised that there was nonetheless nice uncertainty concerning the new variant, together with whether or not it’s really extra infectious or lethal. Though among the mutations detected appeared worrying, she stated there’s nonetheless no proof that the brand new variant is any extra deadly or transmissible than earlier variations.
“It is doable to maintain an infection out, however you would want very, very extreme restrictions and just some nations could be prepared to do that,” she stated.
“Shopping for time is vital and worthwhile, however it is a resolution for policymakers,” she stated. “In the intervening time, we can’t have any definitive scientific solutions for a number of weeks.”
WHAT ABOUT ECONOMIC IMPACTS?
If there’s something the worldwide financial system did not want, it is extra uncertainty.
A brand new extremely transmissible coronavirus poses an financial in addition to a well being threat, threatening to disrupt the worldwide financial restoration and worsen provide chain bottlenecks which can be already pushing costs increased. Markets plummeted world wide over worries concerning the variant — and response from political leaders.
“Probably the most worrying factor concerning the new pressure in the meanwhile is how little we find out about it,” stated Craig Erlam, senior market analyst for the forex buying and selling agency OANDA.
AP writers Matt O’Brien in Windfall, Rhode Island, Paul Wiseman in Washington and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.
The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Division of Science Training. The AP is solely accountable for all content material.
