As the Omicron variant spreads across the world, experts are warning people to stay indoors rather than travelling during the Christmas festival. Adding to these warnings, Anthony Fauci has also warned against that Christmas travelling can spread the virus more severely.<o:p></o:p>

Chief Medical Advisor to the President of United States, Anthony Fauci, said that as the Omicron variant is "raging through the world", there is a huge chance that the variant can spread rapidly across the globe as people are travelling during the Christmas break.

"There's no doubt about this, [Omicron] has an extraordinary capability of spreading," Dr Anthony Fauci told NBC's Meet the Press programme on Sunday.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uks-experts-urge-people-to-stay-home-if-one-person-tests-covid-positive-in-a-house-438279">Experts urge people to stay home if one person tests Covid positive in a house</a></o:p>

Fauci has also urged people to go back to wearing face masks and practice social distancing whenever they step outdoors. People are being advised to avoid going outdoors much and avoid unnecessary gatherings and travel.<o:p></o:p>

He also added that if people do not pay heed to these warnings, the cases will soon double up at an alarming rate, just like it has happened in several European countries. He also added that if the current situation does not get any better, the rapid spread of Omicron can have a serious impact on health services.<o:p></o:p>

"Our hospitals, if things look like they're looking now, are going to be very stressed," he warned.

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/coronavirus-fresh-travel-restrictions-have-led-to-a-spark-in-hotel-booking-cancellations-437005">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/coronavirus-fresh-travel-restrictions-have-led-to-a-spark-in-hotel-booking-cancellations-437005/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Mainly, Fauci is urging everyone to get fully vaccinated and also get a booster shot as soon as possible, as he believes that booster shots are one way of being protected against Omicron to some extent.<o:p></o:p>

"The difference between a vaccinated and boosted person who has an infection, and someone who has an infection who has never been vaccinated - it's a major difference with regard to the risk of severity," he said.<o:p></o:p>

As the Omicron variant spreads across the world, experts are warning people to stay indoors rather than travelling during the Christmas festival. Adding to these warnings, Anthony Fauci has also warned against that Christmas travelling can spread the virus more severely.

As the Omicron variant spreads across the world, experts are warning people to stay indoors rather than travelling during the Christmas festival. Adding to these warnings, Anthony Fauci has also warned against that Christmas travelling can spread the virus more severely. Chief Medical Advisor to the President of United States, Anthony Fauci, said that as the Omicron variant is "raging through the world", there is a huge chance that the variant can spread rapidly across the globe as people are travelling during the Christmas break. "There's no doubt about this, [Omicron] has an extraordinary capability of spreading," Dr Anthony Fauci told NBC's Meet the Press programme on Sunday. Also read | Experts urge people to stay home if one person tests Covid positive in a house Fauci has also urged people to go back to wearing face masks and practice social distancing whenever they step outdoors. People are being advised to avoid going outdoors much and avoid unnecessary gatherings and travel. He also added that if people do not pay heed to these warnings, the cases will soon double up at an alarming rate, just like it has happened in several European countries. He also added that if the current situation does not get any better, the rapid spread of Omicron can have a serious impact on health services. "Our hospitals, if things look like they're looking now, are going to be very stressed," he warned. WATCH | Mainly, Fauci is urging everyone to get fully vaccinated and also get a booster shot as soon as possible, as he believes that booster shots are one way of being protected against Omicron to some extent. "The difference between a vaccinated and boosted person who has an infection, and someone who has an infection who has never been vaccinated - it's a major difference with regard to the risk of severity," he said.

Christmas travel can lead to doubling of Omicron cases: Fauci

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the COVID vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious omicron variant.

All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world.

The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson &amp; Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic.

A global surge of infections in a world where billions of people remain unvaccinated not only threatens the health of vulnerable individuals but also increases the opportunity for the emergence of yet more variants. The disparity in the ability of countries to weather the pandemic will almost certainly deepen. And the news about limited vaccine efficacy against omicron infection could depress demand for vaccination throughout the developing world, where many people are already hesitant or preoccupied with other health problems.

Most evidence so far is based on laboratory experiments, which do not capture the full range of the body’s immune response, and not from tracking the effect on real-world populations. The results are striking, however.

The Pfizer and Moderna shots use the new mRNA technology, which has consistently offered the best protection against infection with every variant. All of the other vaccines are based on older methods of triggering an immune response.

The Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac — which make up almost half of all shots delivered globally — offer almost zero protection from omicron infection. The great majority of people in China have received these shots, which are also widely used in low- and middle-income countries such as Mexico and Brazil.

A preliminary effectiveness study in Britain found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine showed no ability to stop omicron infection six months after vaccination. Ninety percent of vaccinated people in India received this shot, under the brand name Covishield; it has also been widely used across much of sub-Saharan Africa, where COVAX, the global COVID vaccine program, has distributed 67 million doses of it to 44 countries.

Researchers predict that Russia’s Sputnik vaccine, which is also being used in Africa and Latin America, will show similarly dismal rates of protection against omicron.

Demand for the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine had been surging in Africa, because its single-shot delivery regimen makes it easy to deliver in low-resource settings. But it too has shown a negligible ability to block omicron infection.

Antibodies are the first line of defense induced by vaccines. But the shots also stimulate the growth of T cells, and preliminary studies suggest that these T cells still recognize the omicron variant, which is important in preventing severe disease.

“What you lose first is protection against asymptomatic mild infection, what you retain much better is protection against severe disease and death,” said John Moore, a virus expert at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He called it “a silver lining” that omicron so far appears less lethal than the delta variant.

But this protection will not be enough to prevent omicron from causing global disruption, said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for International and Strategic Studies.

“The sheer scale of infection will overwhelm health systems, simply because the denominator will be potentially so big,” he said. “If you have a burst of infection worldwide, a shock, what does the world look like on other side of it? Is it, ‘The war is over,’ or, ‘The war has just entered another phase’? We haven’t begun thinking about any of that.”

People with breakthrough cases may experience only asymptomatic infection or mild illness, but they can pass the virus to unvaccinated people, who could fall more severely ill, and become a source of new variants.

Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, said that more data was needed before drawing conclusions about vaccines’ effectiveness against omicron — and that accelerated vaccination should continue to be the focus of pandemic response.

Preliminary data from South Africa suggest that with omicron, there is a much higher chance of people who already had COVID getting reinfected than there was with the original virus and previous variants. But some public health experts say they believe that countries that have already been through brutal waves of COVID, such as Brazil and India, may have a buffer against omicron, and vaccination after infection produces high antibody levels.

“The combination of vaccination and exposure to the virus seems to be stronger than only having the vaccine,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, a public health researcher in New Delhi. India, he noted, has an adult vaccination rate of only about 40% but 90% exposure to the virus in some areas.

“Without a doubt omicron is going to flood through India,” he said. “But hopefully India is protected to some extent because of vaccination and exposure.”

China does not have this layer of protection to back up its weak vaccines. Because of China’s aggressive efforts to stop spread of the virus within its borders, relatively few people have previous exposure. Only an estimated 7% of people in Wuhan, where the pandemic began, were infected.

Much of Latin America has relied on the Chinese and Russian vaccines, and on AstraZeneca. Mario Rosemblatt, a professor of immunology at the University of Chile, said that more than 90% of Chileans had had two doses of one vaccine, but the great majority of these were Coronavac, the Sinovac shot. High vaccination coverage combined with early reports that omicron does not cause serious illness is leading to a false sense of security in the country, he said.

“We have to get people to understand that it doesn’t work like that: If you get high transmissibility you’re going to have the health system saturated because the number of people getting ill will be higher,” he said.

Brazil has recommended that all vaccinated people get a third dose, and it started using Pfizer’s vaccine for all boosters, but only 40% of the vaccinated have turned up to get the extra shot. Dr. Amilcar Tanuri, a virus expert at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said with cautious optimism that the high levels of previous COVID exposure might blunt omicron’s impact but noted that the most vulnerable Brazilians, vaccinated first, got Coronavac, and tens of millions more were given AstraZeneca.

Morrison called omicron’s ability to evade the protection of vaccination “a massive setback” for low- and middle-income countries, where, far from any discussion of boosters, the focus is still on delivering first shots.

“The world gets cleaved into two parts, right?” he said. “It’s those that have a quick path toward boosters versus those who have had very limited progress and suddenly they’re subject to this new lashing.”

Just 13% of people in Africa have received a least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

Laxminarayan said the Indian government, to which he is an occasional adviser, was considering booster shots, but the delta variant still poses a significant threat in India, and two vaccine doses offers protection against delta. That presents the government with a difficult choice between focusing on getting people who remain unvaccinated, or only partly vaccinated, to two doses, or trying to gets boosters to older people and those with high-risk medical conditions as protection against omicron.

The news that the non-mRNA vaccines offer little protection against infection from omicron may further erode demand for shots in countries already struggling to build demand, Morrison said.

“This challenges the whole value of vaccines,” he said. “If you’re so far behind and then you suffer this, it’s going to feed anti-vaccine sentiment and weaken confidence.”

Tolbert Nyenswah, a senior researcher with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the emerging threat to countries in the global south that have relied on non-mRNA vaccines was an indictment of wealthy countries’ failure to share that technology or help build production points in low- and middle-income countries.

As a consequence, dangerous variants will continue to emerge from areas with low vaccination coverage and will prolong the pandemic, predicted Nyenswah, who was deputy minister of health in Liberia through that country’s worst Ebola outbreak.

Berkley at Gavi said it would be a serious mistake for countries to ease up on their vaccination push or to assume that only mRNA vaccines are worth distributing.

“We may be seeing a situation where countries say, ‘If developed countries don’t want these vaccines, then we don’t want these vaccines,’” he said. “That, of course, would be the wrong interpretation, if it turns out that these vaccines prevent against severe disease and death.”

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the COVID vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious omicron variant.

A growing body of preliminary research suggests the COVID vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of omicron, early research shows. And because most countries have built their inoculation programs around these vaccines, the gap could have a profound impact on the course of the pandemic. A global surge of infections in a world where billions of people remain unvaccinated not only threatens the health of vulnerable individuals but also increases the opportunity for the emergence of yet more variants. The disparity in the ability of countries to weather the pandemic will almost certainly deepen. And the news about limited vaccine efficacy against omicron infection could depress demand for vaccination throughout the developing world, where many people are already hesitant or preoccupied with other health problems. Most evidence so far is based on laboratory experiments, which do not capture the full range of the body’s immune response, and not from tracking the effect on real-world populations. The results are striking, however. The Pfizer and Moderna shots use the new mRNA technology, which has consistently offered the best protection against infection with every variant. All of the other vaccines are based on older methods of triggering an immune response. The Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac — which make up almost half of all shots delivered globally — offer almost zero protection from omicron infection. The great majority of people in China have received these shots, which are also widely used in low- and middle-income countries such as Mexico and Brazil. A preliminary effectiveness study in Britain found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine showed no ability to stop omicron infection six months after vaccination. Ninety percent of vaccinated people in India received this shot, under the brand name Covishield; it has also been widely used across much of sub-Saharan Africa, where COVAX, the global COVID vaccine program, has distributed 67 million doses of it to 44 countries. Researchers predict that Russia’s Sputnik vaccine, which is also being used in Africa and Latin America, will show similarly dismal rates of protection against omicron. Demand for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been surging in Africa, because its single-shot delivery regimen makes it easy to deliver in low-resource settings. But it too has shown a negligible ability to block omicron infection. Antibodies are the first line of defense induced by vaccines. But the shots also stimulate the growth of T cells, and preliminary studies suggest that these T cells still recognize the omicron variant, which is important in preventing severe disease. “What you lose first is protection against asymptomatic mild infection, what you retain much better is protection against severe disease and death,” said John Moore, a virus expert at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He called it “a silver lining” that omicron so far appears less lethal than the delta variant. But this protection will not be enough to prevent omicron from causing global disruption, said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for International and Strategic Studies. “The sheer scale of infection will overwhelm health systems, simply because the denominator will be potentially so big,” he said. “If you have a burst of infection worldwide, a shock, what does the world look like on other side of it? Is it, ‘The war is over,’ or, ‘The war has just entered another phase’? We haven’t begun thinking about any of that.” People with breakthrough cases may experience only asymptomatic infection or mild illness, but they can pass the virus to unvaccinated people, who could fall more severely ill, and become a source of new variants. Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, said that more data was needed before drawing conclusions about vaccines’ effectiveness against omicron — and that accelerated vaccination should continue to be the focus of pandemic response. Preliminary data from South Africa suggest that with omicron, there is a much higher chance of people who already had COVID getting reinfected than there was with the original virus and previous variants. But some public health experts say they believe that countries that have already been through brutal waves of COVID, such as Brazil and India, may have a buffer against omicron, and vaccination after infection produces high antibody levels. “The combination of vaccination and exposure to the virus seems to be stronger than only having the vaccine,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, a public health researcher in New Delhi. India, he noted, has an adult vaccination rate of only about 40% but 90% exposure to the virus in some areas. “Without a doubt omicron is going to flood through India,” he said. “But hopefully India is protected to some extent because of vaccination and exposure.” China does not have this layer of protection to back up its weak vaccines. Because of China’s aggressive efforts to stop spread of the virus within its borders, relatively few people have previous exposure. Only an estimated 7% of people in Wuhan, where the pandemic began, were infected. Much of Latin America has relied on the Chinese and Russian vaccines, and on AstraZeneca. Mario Rosemblatt, a professor of immunology at the University of Chile, said that more than 90% of Chileans had had two doses of one vaccine, but the great majority of these were Coronavac, the Sinovac shot. High vaccination coverage combined with early reports that omicron does not cause serious illness is leading to a false sense of security in the country, he said. “We have to get people to understand that it doesn’t work like that: If you get high transmissibility you’re going to have the health system saturated because the number of people getting ill will be higher,” he said. Brazil has recommended that all vaccinated people get a third dose, and it started using Pfizer’s vaccine for all boosters, but only 40% of the vaccinated have turned up to get the extra shot. Dr. Amilcar Tanuri, a virus expert at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said with cautious optimism that the high levels of previous COVID exposure might blunt omicron’s impact but noted that the most vulnerable Brazilians, vaccinated first, got Coronavac, and tens of millions more were given AstraZeneca. Morrison called omicron’s ability to evade the protection of vaccination “a massive setback” for low- and middle-income countries, where, far from any discussion of boosters, the focus is still on delivering first shots. “The world gets cleaved into two parts, right?” he said. “It’s those that have a quick path toward boosters versus those who have had very limited progress and suddenly they’re subject to this new lashing.” Just 13% of people in Africa have received a least one dose of a COVID vaccine. Laxminarayan said the Indian government, to which he is an occasional adviser, was considering booster shots, but the delta variant still poses a significant threat in India, and two vaccine doses offers protection against delta. That presents the government with a difficult choice between focusing on getting people who remain unvaccinated, or only partly vaccinated, to two doses, or trying to gets boosters to older people and those with high-risk medical conditions as protection against omicron. The news that the non-mRNA vaccines offer little protection against infection from omicron may further erode demand for shots in countries already struggling to build demand, Morrison said. “This challenges the whole value of vaccines,” he said. “If you’re so far behind and then you suffer this, it’s going to feed anti-vaccine sentiment and weaken confidence.” Tolbert Nyenswah, a senior researcher with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the emerging threat to countries in the global south that have relied on non-mRNA vaccines was an indictment of wealthy countries’ failure to share that technology or help build production points in low- and middle-income countries. As a consequence, dangerous variants will continue to emerge from areas with low vaccination coverage and will prolong the pandemic, predicted Nyenswah, who was deputy minister of health in Liberia through that country’s worst Ebola outbreak. Berkley at Gavi said it would be a serious mistake for countries to ease up on their vaccination push or to assume that only mRNA vaccines are worth distributing. “We may be seeing a situation where countries say, ‘If developed countries don’t want these vaccines, then we don’t want these vaccines,’” he said. “That, of course, would be the wrong interpretation, if it turns out that these vaccines prevent against severe disease and death.”

Most of the world's vaccines likely won't prevent infection from Omicron

The new Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around the world and there is a chance that the same might happen in India, the government's Covid task force chief warned.<o:p></o:p>

As India’s Omicron cases tally increased to 101, the experts have warned that the rising cases in United Kingdom and France may translate into nearly 1,400,000 cases on a daily basis.<o:p></o:p>

"If we look at the scale of spread in the UK and if there is a similar outbreak in India, then given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. France is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, then given our population it will mean 13 lakh cases every day," VK Paul said.

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/omicron-variant-spreads-across-the-world-with-uk-covid-19-cases-surging-to-a-record-high-437816">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/omicron-variant-spreads-across-the-world-with-uk-covid-19-cases-surging-to-a-record-high-437816/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Looking at the increasing Omicron cases in the country, Indian authorities are urging locals to avoid public gatherings, especially in large groups. Considering the upcoming Christmas and New Year festivities, Paul has urged locals to avoid all kinds of unnecessary travel and at all costs steer away from parties and crowded festivities.<o:p></o:p>

"It is time to avoid non-essential travel, time to avoid mass gatherings, and time to observe low-intensity festivities and low-intensity New Year celebrations," he said.<o:p></o:p>

This warning comes as the experts fear that as per the data, Omicron may replicate the Delta variant, which caused the second Covid wave in India during summer 2021.<o:p></o:p>

"WHO has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low. It's likely Omicron will outpace Delta variant where community transmission occurs, WHO added," said Health Ministry Joint Secretary Luv Agarwal.<o:p></o:p>

Currently, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of Omicron cases in India, and other states such as Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh also reporting cases of the new virus.

<o:p>(With inputs from agencies)</o:p>

The new Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around the world and there is a chance that the same might happen in India, the government's Covid task force chief warned.

The new Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around the world and there is a chance that the same might happen in India, the government's Covid task force chief warned. As India’s Omicron cases tally increased to 101, the experts have warned that the rising cases in United Kingdom and France may translate into nearly 1,400,000 cases on a daily basis. "If we look at the scale of spread in the UK and if there is a similar outbreak in India, then given our population, there will be 14 lakh cases every day. France is reporting 65,000 cases. If an outbreak of a similar scale takes place in India, then given our population it will mean 13 lakh cases every day," VK Paul said. WATCH | Looking at the increasing Omicron cases in the country, Indian authorities are urging locals to avoid public gatherings, especially in large groups. Considering the upcoming Christmas and New Year festivities, Paul has urged locals to avoid all kinds of unnecessary travel and at all costs steer away from parties and crowded festivities. "It is time to avoid non-essential travel, time to avoid mass gatherings, and time to observe low-intensity festivities and low-intensity New Year celebrations," he said. This warning comes as the experts fear that as per the data, Omicron may replicate the Delta variant, which caused the second Covid wave in India during summer 2021. "WHO has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low. It's likely Omicron will outpace Delta variant where community transmission occurs, WHO added," said Health Ministry Joint Secretary Luv Agarwal. Currently, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of Omicron cases in India, and other states such as Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh also reporting cases of the new virus. (With inputs from agencies)

Studying UK's Omicron trend, experts warn India could see 1.4 million daily Covid cases

France has banned non-essential travel to and from UK, which has been reporting a spike in Covid cases ever since it reported the first case of the Omicron variant.

Only those with “compelling reasons” will be allowed to travel between the two countries, the French government said in a statement.

From Saturday midnight there will be a "requirement to have an essential reason to travel to, or come from, the UK, both for the unvaccinated and vaccinated... People cannot travel for touristic or professional reasons,” news agency AFP quoted the government’s statement.

“Faced with the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK, the government has chosen to reinstate the need for an essential reason for travel from and to the UK,” it said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-reports-more-than-78000-covid-cases-highest-daily-since-pandemic-began-437395">UK reports more than 78,000 Covid cases, highest daily since pandemic began</a>

The announcement was made a day after Britan recorded its highest ever daily Covid cases, detecting 78,610 COVID-19 infections in a single day.

The new measure also seeks COVID-19 tests within 24 hours before entering France, instead of the current 48 hours. They apply to all arrivals whether or not people are vaccinated.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-vaccines-likely-to-be-less-effective-against-omicron-variant-who-437383">Covid vaccines likely to be less effective against Omicron variant: WHO</a>

"People (coming back) will have to register on an app and will have to self-isolate in a place of their choosing for seven days -- controlled by the security forces -- but this can be shortened to 48 hours if a negative test is carried out in France," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told BFMTV channel.

"We will put in place a system of controls drastically tighter than the one we have already," Attal added.

(With inputs from agencies)

France has banned non-essential travel to and from UK, which has been reporting a spike in Covid cases ever since it reported the first case of the Omicron variant.

France has banned non-essential travel to and from UK, which has been reporting a spike in Covid cases ever since it reported the first case of the Omicron variant. Only those with “compelling reasons” will be allowed to travel between the two countries, the French government said in a statement. From Saturday midnight there will be a "requirement to have an essential reason to travel to, or come from, the UK, both for the unvaccinated and vaccinated... People cannot travel for touristic or professional reasons,” news agency AFP quoted the government’s statement. “Faced with the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK, the government has chosen to reinstate the need for an essential reason for travel from and to the UK,” it said. Also read | UK reports more than 78,000 Covid cases, highest daily since pandemic began The announcement was made a day after Britan recorded its highest ever daily Covid cases, detecting 78,610 COVID-19 infections in a single day. The new measure also seeks COVID-19 tests within 24 hours before entering France, instead of the current 48 hours. They apply to all arrivals whether or not people are vaccinated. Also read | Covid vaccines likely to be less effective against Omicron variant: WHO "People (coming back) will have to register on an app and will have to self-isolate in a place of their choosing for seven days -- controlled by the security forces -- but this can be shortened to 48 hours if a negative test is carried out in France," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told BFMTV channel. "We will put in place a system of controls drastically tighter than the one we have already," Attal added. (With inputs from agencies)

France tightens curbs for UK travellers amid Omicron surge

New Zealand has reported the first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus (COVID-19) as the authorities informed on Thursday (December 16).&nbsp;

The case has been detected at a state-run isolation facility in Christchurch in a person, who came to New Zealand from Germany via Dubai.&nbsp;

New Zealand's Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said that the infected person arrived in Auckland before travelling to Christchurch on a charter flight.&nbsp;

The travel took place after following the usual health protocols and measures as the person was tested for COVID-19 positive, the test result was confirmed on December 12, as mentioned by&nbsp;newshub.co.nz.&nbsp;

ALSO READ | &nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-reports-more-than-78000-covid-cases-highest-daily-since-pandemic-began-437395">UK reports more than 78,000 Covid cases, highest daily since pandemic began</a>

During a press conference on Thursday, Bloomfield indicated that there's a possibility of lockdowns or strict measures if Omicron is found in the community.&nbsp;

During the press conference, he said, "Even under the current framework, there is a provision for local restrictions or lockdowns. And so whether it's Omicron or Delta, that's available there as a response if there is an outbreak where we think that might be necessary to help get control and reduce the impact, particularly on health services."

He added, "Again, it probably doesn't matter if it's Delta or Omicron, but at this point in time we're intent on keeping Omicron out of the community."

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-records-highest-ever-daily-numbers-of-covid-19-cases-amid-omicron-scare-437397/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

New Zealand approves vaccines for kids

Meanwhile, New Zealand has given provisional approval for the Pfizer Inc COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years old.&nbsp;

New Zealand's health ministry said in a statement that the approval is for two doses of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine against the deadly virus, given at least 21 days apart.&nbsp;

If approved by the cabinet, the introduction of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine is expected to start in New Zealand no later than the end of January 2022, the ministry said.&nbsp;

New Zealand has reported the first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus (COVID-19) as the authorities informed on Thursday (December 16). The case has been detected at a state-run isolation facility in Christchurch in a person, who came to New Zealand from Germany via Dubai.

New Zealand has reported the first case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus (COVID-19) as the authorities informed on Thursday (December 16). The case has been detected at a state-run isolation facility in Christchurch in a person, who came to New Zealand from Germany via Dubai. New Zealand's Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said that the infected person arrived in Auckland before travelling to Christchurch on a charter flight. The travel took place after following the usual health protocols and measures as the person was tested for COVID-19 positive, the test result was confirmed on December 12, as mentioned by newshub.co.nz. ALSO READ | UK reports more than 78,000 Covid cases, highest daily since pandemic began During a press conference on Thursday, Bloomfield indicated that there's a possibility of lockdowns or strict measures if Omicron is found in the community. During the press conference, he said, "Even under the current framework, there is a provision for local restrictions or lockdowns. And so whether it's Omicron or Delta, that's available there as a response if there is an outbreak where we think that might be necessary to help get control and reduce the impact, particularly on health services." He added, "Again, it probably doesn't matter if it's Delta or Omicron, but at this point in time we're intent on keeping Omicron out of the community." × New Zealand approves vaccines for kids Meanwhile, New Zealand has given provisional approval for the Pfizer Inc COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years old. New Zealand's health ministry said in a statement that the approval is for two doses of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine against the deadly virus, given at least 21 days apart. If approved by the cabinet, the introduction of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine is expected to start in New Zealand no later than the end of January 2022, the ministry said.

COVID-19: First Omicron case detected in New Zealand; infected person arrived in country from Germany

omicron-cases

Omicron Cases, News on Omicron Cases, stories on Omicron Cases, articles on Omicron Cases, Omicron Cases stories at Wion, Omicron Cases news, Omicron Cases latest news

omicron cases

Christmas travel can lead to doubling of Omicron cases: Fauci

Most of the world's vaccines likely won't prevent infection from Omicron

Studying UK's Omicron trend, experts warn India could see 1.4 million daily Covid cases

France tightens curbs for UK travellers amid Omicron surge

COVID-19: First Omicron case detected in New Zealand; infected person arrived in country from Germany