LIVE – Covid: the first case of an Omicron variant detected on Reunion Island

The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus is still worrisome even if many unknowns remain for now regarding the danger it really poses. The World Health Organization warned that it represented a “very high risk” at the global level, while the Group of Seven estimated that this new alternative “requires urgent action”.

Pfizer Laboratories, Moderna and Johnson are currently evaluating the effectiveness of current vaccines against Omicron, while developing new versions of an anti-Covid serum. This can be available from Pfizer, if needed, in less than a hundred days.

> Main information for Tuesday 30 November

> LGermany’s Constitutional Court rules partial confinement measures are lawful

The German Constitutional Court ruled that the partial containment measures taken by the government since the beginning of the epidemic were justified and proportionate, paving the way for further tightening of restrictions against the new wave of the Covid virus.

Restrictions on contact, exit and school closures “in case of extreme danger of the epidemic were in accordance with the Basic Law”, Germany’s highest court considers its decision a few hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Schulz meet with regional leaders to determine whether to tighten restrictions.

> Omicron: Moderna CEO fears a “significant drop” in vaccine efficacy

In an interview with the Financial Times, Stefan Bancel declared little confidence in the ability of current vaccines to handle the new alternative. If Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech do indeed embark on the race for a new vaccine, he believes, however, that labs won’t be able to mass produce before the summer.

> China realizes that alternative Omicron will complicate the organization of the Olympic Games

China has acknowledged that the new alternative will mean additional difficulties for organizing the Winter Olympics in Beijing, from February 4-20. However, she reaffirmed her confidence in the success of the event. It will certainly bring some challenges in terms of fighting the epidemic. But China has experience in this field and I am absolutely convinced that the Winter Olympics will be held without worries. “

> “When you are vaccinated, you significantly reduce the risk of contamination,” emphasizes Gabriel Attal

As the government spokesperson insisted, in front of Microphone Europe 1: “Yes, we should call back today.” Although the vaccine would be less effective with the Omicron variant, he explained that the current wave we are seeing in France is due to the delta variant with effective vaccines.

After the first Omicron case emerged in Reunion, further results are expected “in the next few hours,” he said. He said the patient positive for the Omicron variant identified in Reunion had six at-risk contacts in his entourage.

> Easyjet cuts annual loss ‘too early’ to say Omicron effect

The British airline cut its annual net loss to 858 million pounds in the troubled financial year ending in late September, from about 1.1 billion the previous year, according to a statement.

The low-cost carrier has struggled with the pandemic and restrictions on international travel during the year under review and says it is still “too early to measure the impact of the ‘Omicron’ ‘novel coronavirus’ variant on European travel.”

> India has not yet recorded a case of the Omicron variant

This is what Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandavia said, Tuesday, before members of the Senate of India’s Parliament.

According to the latest official data, the country recorded 6,990 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, the lowest daily increase in 551 days. Meanwhile, India officially mourned 190 new deaths.

> Kovacs provided North Korea with enough to immunize 13% of its population

Covax, an international vaccine distribution mechanism, has decided to send an additional 4.73 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) to North Korea as part of the latest distribution plan.

With two million doses of the vaccine already allocated by Covax to the North, the volume is enough to vaccinate about 13% of the country’s total population.

> Travel restrictions in Ecuador

Ecuadorean President Guillermo Laso said Ecuador will impose entry restrictions on travelers from a number of African countries and will require vaccine certificates from other countries.

“For all of us in Ecuador, this alternative should be seen as a wake-up call to do more against the pandemic,” Guillermo Laso added during a television program calling for citizens to be vaccinated.

> Moderna’s pessimistic chief

Moderna’s CEO said that Covid-19 vaccines will likely not be as effective against the Omicron variant as they are against the previous variants. Statements that raise new concerns in financial markets about the course of the epidemic.

“I don’t think we have the same level of competence that we had with Delta,” Stefan Bancel said in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday. “There will be a drop in efficiency, I think, but I don’t know to what extent. We have to wait for the data. But every scientist I’ve talked to has told me it’s not going to be good.”

> Case of Omicron variant in Reunion, first confirmed case in France

According to the local France Télévisions antenna, citing the head of the Joint Unit for Research of Infectious Processes in Tropical Island Environments (PIMIT), it is a 53-year-old man who traveled to Mozambique and made a stop in South Africa. Where this variant was discovered, before returning to Reunion.

“ARS responded immediately, and this person was placed in isolation, but also his entourage,” microbiologist Patrick Mavingoy told the waves of Réunion la 1ère (France Television Group). On Sunday, the Minister of Health, Olivier Veran, had announced that there were eight possible cases of the Omicron variant in France.

> Fiji will reopen in December though Omicron

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said the latest appearance of the Omicron variant will not stand in the way of the reopening plan set for December 1. He even said he would personally welcome Fiji’s first flight from Australia on Wednesday morning to Nadi, on the main island of Viti Levu.

Fiji has tightened restrictions on arrivals from South Africa, but has not changed the rules of “travel partner” countries whose citizens can still afford a tropical vacation to this Pacific paradise.

Chile suspends the opening of its borders

“Given the general situation of the Omicron variant, we have decided to postpone the opening of the wild corridors that were announced a few days ago,” Alberto Dugnac, an agent for Healthcare Networks, said at a point about the epidemic in Chile. The land crossings that were due to reopen were at Chacaluta, on the border with Peru, Pino Hachado, on the border with Argentina, and Colchán, on the border with Bolivia.

He explained, in a statement issued by the Ministry of Health, that the government’s decision will be re-evaluated within two weeks, depending on the national and international epidemiological development of the Omicron variant.

> United States: Omicron variable can affect the economy and inflation

“The recent increase in Covid-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variable pose downside risks to jobs and economic activity and increase inflation uncertainty,” Fed President Jerome Powell said.

Jerome Powell, who was just appointed by Joe Biden to a second term at the Fed, also judged that “it now appears that the factors driving inflation higher will continue largely next year,” according to his speech on Tuesday. to the Senate Banking Committee, which was published on Monday.

> More than 100 new deaths from the Covid virus in France

In total, 103 new deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours in France, according to official figures. In addition, there are currently 1,749 in intensive care, an increase of 117.