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 around the globe should not ready for scientists to higher 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 international locations wanted to be further cautious in coping with the variant till it was clear how severe a menace the variant posed.
READ MORE: AP Explainer: What we all know thus far in regards to the new COVID variant in South Africa
The U.Okay. additionally banned flights from South Africa and 5 different southern African international locations and introduced that anybody who had not too long ago arrived from these international locations can be requested to take a coronavirus take a look at.
The strikes have renewed a debate over whether or not flight bans and different journey restrictions work to forestall 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 Centres for Illness Management and Prevention stated it strongly discouraged imposing journey bans on folks coming from international locations the place the variant was reported.
DO TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS?
They may purchase international locations extra time to hurry up vaccination and introduce different measures, like masking and social distancing, however they’re extremely unlikely to forestall the entry of recent variants, stated Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious illnesses 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 doesn’t make sense when international locations now have countermeasures equivalent to fast checks and vaccines.
In the meantime, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell informed a neighborhood information company stated he doesn’t imagine {that a} journey ban would have any main impact, apart from for international locations with direct flights to the affected areas.
“It’s principally unattainable to maintain monitor of all journey flows,” Tegnell informed 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 an even bigger influence than when the delta variant first emerged.
“The surveillance is so good in South Africa and different close by international locations that they discovered this (new variant), understood it was an issue and informed the world very quick about it,” he stated. “We could also be at an earlier level with this new variant so there should be time to do one thing about it.”
Nevertheless, Barrett stated harsh restrictions can be counter-productive and that the South African officers shouldn’t be punished for alerting the world to the brand new variant. “They’ve completed 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 have been political selections, not scientific ones. She emphasised that there was nonetheless nice uncertainty in regards to 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’s potential to maintain an infection out, however you would wish very, very extreme restrictions and just some international locations can be keen to do that,” she stated.
“Shopping for time is necessary and worthwhile, however this can be a resolution for policymakers,” she stated. “In the mean time, we gained’t have any definitive scientific solutions for just a few weeks.”
WHAT ABOUT ECONOMIC IMPACTS?
If there’s something the worldwide financial system didn’t want, it’s extra uncertainty.
A brand new extremely transmissible coronavirus poses an financial in addition to a well being danger, threatening to disrupt the worldwide financial restoration and worsen provide chain bottlenecks which can be already pushing costs greater. Markets plummeted around the globe over worries in regards to the variant — and response from political leaders.
“Probably the most worrying factor in regards to the new pressure in the intervening time is how little we learn 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 Schooling. The AP is solely answerable for all content material.