CCTV, Beijing, November 29 (Reporter Song Xue) Recently, the new crown virus mutant strain Omicron (Omicron) has attracted worldwide attention. A few days ago, WHO stated that this latest mutant strain was confirmed for the first time in South Africa on November 9 and was first reported to WHO on the 24th. From an epidemiological point of view, the rate of new crown infection in South Africa has risen sharply in recent weeks, which is consistent with the detection of the B.1.1.529 variant strain. Recently, 90% of new infections in Gauteng, South Africa are related to this variant. Up to now, the governments of many countries have successively issued or are preparing to introduce entry restrictions on flights and passengers from southern African countries.
According to a CCTV financial report, many European countries are experiencing the fourth wave of the epidemic, and the number of confirmed cases of the new crown has increased significantly. As the northern hemisphere enters winter and traditional holidays approach, indoor gatherings increase, and many national defense agencies worry that new virus variants will spread faster. Among them, the British government stated on the 26th that from that day onwards, flights from South Africa and the surrounding 5 countries will be prohibited from entering the country, and relevant travel history personnel will be required to undergo nucleic acid testing and quarantine. Switzerland announced on the same day that it would indefinitely ban all direct flights from Botswana, South Africa and other countries. On the same day, European Commission President Von der Lein said that the European Union recommends that member states temporarily suspend flights to Europe from southern Africa.
Data map (Source: CFP)
According to CCTV Finance, at present, EU member states such as Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Netherlands have respectively introduced or are planning to announce different levels of travel restrictions for southern African countries. In addition, Russia also announced that it will prohibit entry of foreign citizens from some countries and regions such as South Africa from November 28. According to US media reports, the US government will begin to impose travel restrictions on citizens from seven countries including South Africa on the 29th of this month. Health Canada also announced on the 26th that it will prohibit entry of foreigners who have been to southern African countries in the past 14 days. After Israel discovered a new variant of the virus strain in its territory, it has banned its citizens from traveling to southern Africa, and listed all African countries except North African countries as “epidemic red” countries, and banned the entry of people from these countries. Singapore and Malaysia respectively announced on the 26th that they would prohibit the entry of travelers who have recently visited South Africa and other seven countries. The Indian government issued a reminder that local governments should implement virus testing and health screenings on international travelers from South Africa and other “risk zone” countries. Japan has also implemented measures to suspend inbound flights and isolate passengers from South Africa and other countries.
On November 28, the first national meeting of the Respiratory Medicine Branch of the China Rare Disease Alliance was held in Guangzhou. Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. He said that through genetic testing, it was found that the new mutant strain has more mutation points in the receptor binding site, but how harmful it is and whether it needs to be developed against the new strain is still needed for some time to judge. No major action will be taken for the time being, but attention should be paid to strengthening prevention and control of people entering South Africa and other places.
In addition, Dr. Zhang Wenhong, head of the Shanghai New Coronary Pneumonia Clinical Treatment Expert Team and Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, posted on his personal social account on November 28, expressing his views on the mutant strain of the new coronavirus, Omi Keron. Zhang Wenhong believes that the current Omi Keron mutant strain will not have a big impact on China. China’s current rapid response and dynamic zeroing strategy can deal with various types of new crown variants. China is in the period of strategic opportunities won by the dynamic zero-clearing strategy, and is accelerating the construction of the scientific support needed to deal with the normalized anti-epidemic in the next stage, including the formation of effective vaccines and drug reserves that can support the opening of the world, as well as public health and medical resource reserves .Return to Sohu to see more
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