New virus strain Omi Keron ordered many countries to issue travel restrictions

Original title: New virus strain Omi Keron ordered many countries to issue travel restrictions, Zhong Nanshan’s latest research and judgment

(Observer Network News) The new variant of the new crown virus “Omicron” (Omicron) recently reported in South Africa has spread to Hong Kong, Israel, Belgium and other places. Affected by the virus epidemic, many countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have launched travel restrictions against several countries in Africa. In this regard, the World Health Organization calls on all countries to “not discriminate against countries that openly share findings”, and should uphold a scientific attitude and take relevant measures cautiously.

Academician Zhong Nanshan said in a speech at the summit forum of “Concerning the Indoor Environment and Building a Community of Human Destiny for All-People Epidemic Prevention” held on November 27, saying that vaccination must be very effective. According to the latest data, the number of people who have completed the entire vaccination process of the new crown vaccine in my country has accounted for 76.8% of the national population, which has laid a very good foundation for reaching the goal of over 80% by the end of this year and realizing herd immunity.

Regarding the new variant virus detected in South Africa recently, Zhong Nanshan said that currently there is not much knowledge about the variant virus, but this virus carries a large number of mutations and poses more challenges to the epidemic prevention work.

　　Many countries and regions announced the implementation of travel restrictions

On November 26, local time, after listening to the American infectious disease Fauci’s report on “Omi Keron”, US President Biden announced that the United States will start dealing with people from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Lesotho on November 29. Citizens of 8 countries in southern Africa, including Swaziland, Mozambique, and Malawi, imposed travel restrictions. The United States just lifted travel restrictions on South Africa on November 8.

Biden said, “As a precautionary measure before we have more information, I have ordered additional restrictions on air travel from South Africa and seven other countries,” “These new restrictions will take effect on November 29. In our As we move forward, we will continue to be guided by the advice of science and my medical team.”

Before the announcement by the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe had already taken action. British Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that starting from 12 noon on the 26th, all flights from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland will be suspended. Non-British and non-Irish nationals who have been to these 6 countries in the last 10 days are also not allowed to enter the country. British and Irish nationals must be tested and quarantined for the virus.

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission recommends that EU member states suspend air travel with countries where the variant virus strain is found, until the dangers of this new variant are more clearly understood, and all those returning from relevant regions Everyone should abide by strict quarantine regulations. Subsequently, the European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer tweeted that the 27 countries have agreed to move quickly to restrict all personnel from the 7 southern African countries from entering the European Union. Restrictions apply to Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

The Russian Epidemic Prevention Command announced on the 26th that it will restrict foreign citizens from nine African countries including Madagascar and Hong Kong, China, and foreigners who have visited these countries and regions in the past 10 days from entering Russia from November 28. Territory. The governments of Canada, Israel, Bahrain, Japan, Singapore, Turkey and other countries also announced similar restrictions on the 26th.

In addition, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government also stated that according to the latest development of the new crown epidemic, it will tighten the restrictions on arrivals from 8 countries in southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique, which have been designated as high-risk areas, starting at 0:00 on November 27. The boarding and quarantine requirements prohibit non-Hong Kong residents who have stayed there within 21 days from entering the country. Hong Kong residents must have completed vaccination and have vaccination records before they can board the flight to Hong Kong, and undergo a 21-day compulsory quarantine at the designated quarantine hotel upon arrival in Hong Kong.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said that although it is not fully understood whether the strain may affect the epidemic or whether the related mutations will affect the effectiveness of the new crown vaccine, in order to prevent problems before they occur, they must be prepared. The SAR government will continue to pay close attention to the epidemic situation in different regions, take the risk-based principle as the principle, consider the “basket” of factors, and adjust the boarding, quarantine and testing requirements for people arriving in Hong Kong in the relevant regions according to the degree of risk.

　　WHO calls on countries to implement travel restrictions cautiously

Previously, the WHO had previously listed “Omi Keron” as a “Variant Of Concern” (Variant Of Concern, VOC). The WHO said that preliminary evidence shows that this worrying new variant has a large number of mutations and the rate of infection may also be faster. Compared with other virus variants (such as Delta), the risk of re-infection is increased.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical director for the new crown epidemic, also emphasized that relevant information is still limited. “It will take us a few weeks to understand the impact of this new variant. There is a lot of work in progress. This is a new variant that is being monitored.”

She also thanked researchers in South Africa and Botswana for publicly reporting relevant information to the World Health Organization, and urged everyone to “not discriminate against countries that publicly share findings.” The WHO, citing data from the South African health authority, said that so far, fewer than 100 confirmed cases of “Omi Keron” have mainly occurred among young people with the lowest vaccination rates in the country.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier also believes that countries should make more contributions to monitoring and sequencing, such as cooperating with affected countries or the world, learning to fight against this new variant and increasing understanding of it , So that the WHO knows how to proceed… “So, considering this, we hope that people should take a cautious attitude when considering implementing travel measures.”

Regarding the danger of “Omi Keron”, a report issued by the British Health and Security Agency stated that it carries 32 different mutations on the new coronavirus spike protein. Spike protein is a key protein that the new coronavirus binds to receptors on the surface of human cells and mediates the entry of the virus into the cell. It is also a target area for a variety of new coronavirus vaccines and neutralizing antibody therapies. Mutations in the spike protein may change the characteristics of the virus invading cells and may allow them to evade the immune protection provided by the existing new crown vaccine and neutralizing antibody therapies.

Among them, “Omi Keron” has N501Y mutations in both “Alpha” (reported in the UK) and “Beta” (reported in South Africa) variants, which can enhance the binding ability of the spike protein to the receptor ACE2. It also has a mutation at position E484, which can cause the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein to not be recognized by the neutralizing antibody.

In addition, “Omi Keron” also carries two mutations (P681H and N679K) near the furin cleavage site of the spike protein. The current study shows that the furin cleavage site may help the virus enter the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, and the furin cuts Mutations near the site may make the spike protein easier to cut, thereby enhancing the virus’s ability to infect. The previous “Delta” (reported by India) carried the P681R mutation, and its R0 value was as high as 5-8, far exceeding the infectiousness of the new crown virus when the epidemic first broke out in early 2020 (R0 value 2.4-2.6).

The most worrying thing is that “Omi Keron” also carries the above-mentioned genetic mutations that did not exist in the previous VOC mutant strains, and their comprehensive impact still needs to be clarified.