Month: December 2021

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that southern African nations that first detected the omicron COVID-19 variant are being collectively punished with travel restrictions, and he urged “common sense” to respond to the new variant.

“What’s unacceptable is to have one part of the world — one of the most vulnerable parts of the world economy — condemned to a lockout when they were the ones that revealed the existence of a new variant that, by the way, already existed in other parts of the world, including in Europe, as we know,” Guterres told reporters.

He appealed to the more than 50 governments that have imposed travel restrictions on visitors from South Africa, where scientists first reported the omicron variant on November 24, according to the World Health Organization, and seven other African countries, amid concerns the new mutation is highly transmissible.

“This is a very strong appeal that I launch, an appeal to common sense,” Guterres said. “We have the instruments to have safe travel. Let’s use those instruments to avoid this kind of, allow me to say — travel apartheid — which I think is unacceptable.”

Guterres had just concluded meetings with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

“We’ve seen as a result of being transparent that most of Africa has been subjected to sanctions — flights between this region and a certain number of countries have been banned, and that is regrettable,” Faki said, condemning the measures as unjustified.

He noted that less than 6% of Africans are fully vaccinated because of unequal distribution.

WHO said Tuesday that blanket travel bans will not prevent international spread of the variant and could hurt the global COVID-19 response because it will discourage countries from reporting new variants.

WHO urges all travelers to adhere to mitigation measures, including getting vaccinated, washing hands and wearing masks.

Source: Voice of America

The World Health Organization (WHO) Wednesday began a lengthy process to develop an international agreement on the prevention and control of future pandemics.

The WHO’s World Health Assembly – the organization’s decision-making body – approved the effort at the end of a rare, three-day special session at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. The plan, entitled “The World Together,” was created as the world is facing the new omicron variant of coronavirus.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the decision, saying the pandemic has exposed shortcomings in the application and implementation of international health regulations established by the WHO in 2005.

The agreement would establish international standards on issues ranging from data sharing and genome sequencing of emerging viruses to equitable distribution of vaccine and drugs.

Wednesday’s decision begins the process of drafting and negotiating the agreement, which is not expected to be completed until May 2024.

The European Union (EU) had pushed for the agreement on an international legally binding treaty, along with about 70 countries, but Brazil, India and the United States were among those reluctant to commit to a treaty, diplomats said.

More than 262.22 million people have been reported infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, and 5.46 million people have died of it since it emerged in China in December 2019.

Source: Voice of America

Nigeria has confirmed its first cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in two travelers from South Africa. But Canada had already reported cases of the variant in Canadians who had recently returned there from Nigeria. The infections raise concerns that the easily spread variant could be taking hold in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.

Nigeria’s Center for Disease Control made the announcement in a statement early Wednesday and said three cases had been confirmed so far.

However, officials corrected the report which had earlier suggested that Nigeria had found evidence of omicron since October in follow-up statement released Wednesday afternoon.

The earlier report raised concerns that the variant may have been circulating for weeks before it was detected and officially announced in South Africa last week.

The variant has spread to least 24 countries.

Nigeria CDC Director General Ifedayo Adetifa says authorities are already taking measures to prevent its spread in Nigeria.

“We are enhancing surveillance in terms of looking at travelers and likely importation of cases and ensuring that travelers adhere to all of the travel advisories. We’ll continue to watch as this variant spreads through the population,” he expressed.

On Sunday, Canadian authorities said they detected the variant in two travelers, who had recently been in Nigeria and expanded a travel ban to include Nigeria and nine other African countries.

But Nigerian authorities had maintained that no case of the variant had been seen in the country. However, during a weekly COVID-19 update in Abuja Monday, Nigeria’s health minister Osagie Ehanire said the country was preparing for any eventualities.

“We are adopting a watchful, waiting posture — watchful waiting posture in that we’re looking very closely at all developments and watching the points of entry,” he noted.

The World Health Organization has designated omicron a variant of concern and urged leaders to take urgent control measures.

But Adetifa says restricting travel is a step taken too soon. “We are currently the subject of travel bans ourselves for reasons that are not given by the science. This is not driven by the science, and we think from a technical perspective at the moment that this is not the way to go,” he pointed out.

Nigerian authorities say they will continue to maintain strong surveillance, hoping to limit the variant’s spread and apply stricter measures if need be.

Source: Voice of America