The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern about a new form of corona virus. It is named 'Omicron' in technical terminology, it is described as 'Version of Concern.
The WHO warned that this is too fast and a large number of variable variants. He has reported that many mutations of this variant are causing concern. Therefore, based on the initial evidence, the WHO has said that the risk of infection has increased due to this mutation.
The world banned movement from South African countries
The WHO got information about the first such case from South Africa on 24 November. Apart from this, this variant has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
After the appearance of this variant, many countries of the world have decided to ban travel from South Africa.
People arriving from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini will not be able to enter the UK unless they are citizens of the UK or Ireland or are residents of the UK.
Omicron variant- Saudi Arabia, Iran, America imposed restrictions on people coming from these countries.
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US officials have also decided to halt flights to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. This ban will be effective from Monday. European Union countries and Switzerland have also temporarily banned flights to several South African countries.
The news of getting new variants of Corona saw a huge drop in the stock markets around the world on Friday. The FTSE 100, an index of major UK stocks, fell nearly four per cent. At the same time, the markets of Germany, France and America also broke down.
It is not unusual for a virus to mutate or mutate over time.
A variant of the virus becomes a variant of concern (VOC) when it can affect factors such as the effectiveness of the vaccine, which has the potential to spread or cause harm.
The WHO said on Friday that the number of such cases is increasing in all provinces of southern Africa. Initially this variant was named B.1.1.1.529.
"This variant is changing very rapidly and some of these mutations are of concern," the WHO said in a statement. According to him, the first known infection of this mutation was detected in a sample submitted on 9 November. However, he has said that it will take a few weeks to understand the effect of the new variant.
At the same time, a top UK health official has warned that the vaccine is almost unlikely to be effective against this new variant.
Although Professor James Naismith, a structural biologist at Oxford University, has said that this is bad news, but it is not a matter of doom.
However, he has also warned that if this variant spreads further, it will reach the UK. He also pointed out that understanding its diffusion ability "is not as easy as the effect of amino acids." How far it will spread will depend on how the mutations work together, he said.
Dr. Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modeling Group (SPI-M), told the BBC on Friday that only 24 percent of South Africa's people have been fully immunized, so cases of corona there can spread rapidly.
Meanwhile, US infectious diseases chief Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that the news of the discovery of new variants has signaled danger, but the Kovid vaccine may still be able to prevent the severity of the disease. "Until there is a proper test, we don't know if it overcomes the antibodies that protect against the virus," Fauchi told CNN.
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south africa, corona
WHO's warning on imposing travel restrictions
The WHO has warned countries that have imposed travel restrictions hastily, saying these countries should take a "scientific approach given the dangers".
However, apart from the UK, US and EU countries, other countries have also announced travel restrictions. India has ordered stricter screening of passengers arriving from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong.
At the same time, Japan has announced that from Saturday, most travelers coming from southern Africa will be quarantined for 10 days. During that time people will be screened four times.
Iran has announced a ban on movement from South Africa as well as six South African countries. Brazil has also said it is banning travel from six countries in Africa.
On the other hand, South African Health Minister Joe Fahla has said that these restrictions imposed on flights to and from his country are "unfair". He said that these restrictions imposed on movement are completely against the norms and standards set by WHO.
