Tag Archives: Omicron

Harare, Zimbabwe | Xinhua | Zimbabwe will start administering COVID-19 booster shots to frontline workers, people with chronic diseases, and the elderly with immediate effect, a senior Ministry of Health and Child Care official said on Friday. The announcement came as the country on Thursday confirmed its first case of the …

Genea, Switzerland | Xinhua | Despite the current uncertainty over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, people should still get vaccinated because it will save lives, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a WHO press briefing …

Abuja, Nigeria | Xinhua | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday faulted the travel ban imposed on his country and sister African nations by some Western countries in the aftermath of the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 by South African scientists. Ramaphosa, while attending a joint press conference …

Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, even as dozens of countries have already introduced such restrictions. Although labeling Omicron as a “variant of concern”, the WHO said blanket travel …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern The Hague, Netherlands | Xinhua | The Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in test samples taken in the Netherlands from Nov. 19 to 23 this year, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) announced on Tuesday. “In a special PCR test, the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Opposition in Parliament has tasked the government to undertake necessary measures to detect and prevent the spread of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. The new Covid-19 variant is reported to have originated in South Africa and spread to different countries. It has sent …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday sought to reassure the country about the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, telling Americans that his administration was working with vaccine manufacturers to modify vaccines and booster shots should that prove necessary. “We’re throwing everything we have at this …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Despite a growing number of countries impose flight bans on southern African nations due to concerns over the new Omicron variant, World Health Organization (WHO) urges countries to follow science and the International Health Regulations. In a statement, the organization warns that travel bans may …

United States imposed travel restrictions on southern African countries New York, U.S. | Xinhua | The newly-discovered Omicron variant of COVID-19 in South Africa has raised fears about the global trajectory of the pandemic, while some countries including the United States have raced to impose travel restrictions on southern African countries. …

Cairo, Egypt | Xinhua | The Egyptian government suspended direct flights with a number of southern African countries due to concerns over the new COVID-19 variant Omicron. The decision was made late on Friday after a meeting of the ministerial crisis management committee headed by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, according …