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Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Nurses converses with a patients as they check in before they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot, as it looks to tackle a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus that is quickly spreading across the globe.
The update comes after President Joe Biden on Monday called for wider vaccination to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which was first detected in southern Africa.
The U.S. health regulators last week expanded the eligibility for booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines to all adults aged 18 and older either six months after their initial Pfizer (PFE.N) or Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccine doses or two months after their Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) shot.
The CDC had, however, stopped short of saying all adults aged 18 to 49 should get the additional shots.
The agency is taking a more cautious stance as Omicron's emergence further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Monday.
Amid the renewed emphasis, Pfizer and partner BioNTech (22UAy.DE) are expected to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the coming days to authorize their booster shots for those aged 16 and 17 years, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing sources.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FDA could approve booster doses for 16 and 17 year-olds as soon as next week.
Pfizer, BioNTech and the FDA did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Omicron, which the World Health Organization said carried a very high risk for fueling infection surges, has now been confirmed in several countries including Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa and Canada. read more
Scientists in the United States and around the world are urgently examining vaccine effectiveness related to this variant, the CDC said.
The agency also said the 47 million adults who are not yet vaccinated are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cdc-says-all-adults-18-over-should-get-covid-19-booster-shots-2021-11-29/
People wear face masks on the London underground, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in London, Britain, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
New mask mandates and other measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant came into force in England on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson eyes an expanded booster programme to help increase protection against COVID-19.
From Tuesday morning, face masks are compulsory on transport and in shops, banks and hair salons.
All international travellers must take a PCR test by the end of the second day after they arrive, and self-isolate until they get their result. That is in addition to restrictions on arrivals from 10 southern African countries, who have to enter hotel quarantine.
Britain has reported 11 cases of the Omicron variant so far, and while the government says this number will rise, it says it is important to slow its spread until more is known about the variant's tranmissibility and impact on vaccines.
"The measures taking effect today are proportionate and responsible, and will buy us time in the face of this new variant," Johnson said in a statement.
"Not only will today's steps help us slow down the variant's spread, but they will help us protect each other and the gains we have all worked so hard for."
Johnson has said the measures will be reviewed after three weeks, but added that the country's vaccine rollout leaves it in a better situation than this time last year, when restrictions were introduced shortly before Christmas.
On Monday vaccine advisers gave the go ahead to a booster programme for all adults, and health minister Sajid Javid said there would be more details on how it would be implemented this week. read more
Booster shots are expected to help protect against severe disease even if Omicron is able to reduce vaccine efficacy.
"Based on everything we know, our vaccines and boosters remain our best line of defence," Johnson said.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/mask-mandates-tackle-omicron-come-into-force-england-2021-11-30/
People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walk on a street in Hong Kong, China November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Lam Yik
Hong Kong has banned non-residents from entering the city from four African countries and plans to expand that to travellers who have been to Australia, Canada, Israel and six European countries in the past 21 days due to fears over Omicron.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the Omicron coronavirus variant carried a very high risk of infection surges, and countries around the world have tightened travel restrictions.
In a statement late on Monday, the Hong Kong government said non-residents from Angola, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zambia would not be allowed to enter the global financial hub as of Nov. 30. Residents can return if they are vaccinated but will have to quarantine for seven days in a government facility and another two weeks in a hotel at their own cost.
"Non-Hong Kong residents from these four places will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong," the statement said. "The most stringent quarantine requirements will also be implemented on relevant inbound travellers from these places."
Additionally, non-residents who have been to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel, and Italy in the past 21 days would not be allowed to enter the city from Dec. 2. Vaccinated residents returning from these countries will have to do three weeks of hotel quarantine.
Hong Kong last week banned non-Hong Kong residents arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Authorities have detected three people with the Omicron variant through mandatory testing while in quarantine, but it has no known coronavirus cases in the general community.
The global financial hub is among the last places in the world pursuing a zero-COVID strategy and has some of the tightest travel restrictions. In coming months it hopes to partially reopen the border with mainland China, which also has no tolerance for coronavirus cases.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kong-bans-non-resident-arrivals-13-more-countries-due-omicron-2021-11-30/
People walk past the headquarters of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Shougang Park, the site of a a former steel mill, in Beijing, China, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
hina expects to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics "smoothly" and on schedule, despite challenges posed by the emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular daily briefing on Tuesday.
"I believe it will definitely pose some challenge to our efforts to prevent and control the virus, but as China has experience in preventing and controlling the coronavirus, I fully believe that China will be able to host the Winter Olympics as scheduled, smoothly and successfully," Zhao said.
Beijing is set to stage the Games from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20, without foreign spectators and with all athletes and related personnel contained in a "closed-loop" and subject to daily testing for COVID-19.
Under its "zero-COVID" policy, China has had what are among the world's strictest COVID-19 prevention measures.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/china-says-olympics-will-go-smoothly-despite-omicron-challenge-2021-11-30/
By Junko Ogura
Japan has detected its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference Tuesday.
The infection was detected in a man in his 30s who traveled from Namibia to Tokyo and tested positive at Narita Airport on arrival Sunday.
Matsuno said the man is in quarantine at a government facility and his close contacts have been traced.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was planning to hold an emergency meeting with ministers, he added.
Japan is the 19th country or territory to diagnose a case of Omicron, according to analysis and data compiled by CNN.
Omicron has been labeled a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization. There is no indication yet whether the variant is more transmissible or more deadly than previous mutations of the coronavirus.
Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/omicron-covid-19-variant-11-30-21/index.html
By Teele Rebane
People board a bus in Singapore on November 29, under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) for border-crossing passengers to Malaysia's southern state of Johor. Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
Singapore and Malaysia reopened their shared land border Monday to vaccinated travelers for the first time since the pandemic began almost two years ago.
Citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders of the country they are entering may now cross the border quarantine-free on designated Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) buses, according to a statement by the Prime Minister of Singapore's office.
However, those who travel to Singapore by other means, including private transport or walking across the causeway, will be subject to border control measures, which include serving a seven-day Stay-Home Notice, the Singaporean government said in a statement.
All travelers must be fully vaccinated, have a negative Covid-19 ART or PCR test taken within two days of departure, and have remained in Malaysia, Singapore or any other VTL country for at least 14 days prior. They will also have to take a Covid-19 test on arrival.
The two countries "aim to progressively expand" the VTL to include general travelers from mid-December 2021 onwards, "taking into account the public health situation," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday.
"The Covid-19 situation in both countries is now stabilizing. Both have made good progress in vaccinating our populations. Hence it is timely for us to reopen our borders, progressively and safely," Lee said.
"We are all watching anxiously the new Omicron variant, to see how it will behave," he added. "But even if Omicron disrupts these plans, our goal will still be to have more open borders between Singapore and Malaysia, and I am quite confident that after some time we will be able to make further progress."
Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/omicron-covid-19-variant-11-30-21/index.html
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