The spread of the new variant of the coronavirus , Omicron, has accelerated around the world in the past 24 hours, raising increasing concern and pushing more and more countries to close their borders.
Rapid spread across the world and particularly in Europe
In France, the Ministry of Health announced in a press release published on Sunday evening that eight “ possible ” cases of carriers of the Omicron variant have been detected on French territory.
The information must be ” confirmed by sequencing, but these people are already in isolation, ” said the same press release.
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The Portuguese health authority announced the detection, this Monday, November 29, of 13 cases of the new variant of the coronavirus on its soil. All linked to players and staff of the Lisbon Belenenses football team, the same source said.
In the Netherlands, no less than thirteen passengers from South Africa have tested positive for the new variant, the country’s health authorities announced on Sunday (November 28th).
It should be remembered that several other cases have been detected elsewhere in Europe in recent days, and in particular in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic.
A rapid spread and which represents a risk ” high to very high “, judges the Health Agency of the European Union in a press release.
Canada also announced, Sunday, November 28, the detection of two positive cases for the new strain of the virus in travelers returning from Nigeria. These are the first cases of the Omicron variant detected in America.
Border closure
To cope with the spread of the Omicron variant, three countries have already announced the total closure of their borders to foreign travelers. These are Morocco, Japan and Israel.
Around the world, several countries, such as France, Italy, Germany, the United States and Canada, have decided, as a precaution, to temporarily close their borders to travelers from Southern Africa.
Citing the uncertainties surrounding the transmissibility and the dangerousness of the new variant, Australia for its part decided to suspend, this Monday, November 29, its project to reopen the borders to students and qualified workers.
Emergency meeting of G7 health ministers
While several cases linked to the new strain have been detected around the world, the British government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7, announced this Monday, November 29, ” an emergency meeting to discuss the evolution of the situation on Omicron ”.
Health ministers from France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom will take part.
What about in Algeria?
To date, no case of contamination with the new variant has been detected in the country, and Algeria has, for the time being, announced no additional border control measures.
The Pasteur Institute in Algeria, however, warned in a statement indicating that “the greater the spread of the coronavirus, the greater the possibility of the emergence and spread of mutated viruses (including the Omicron variant) ” .
He recalled the importance of ” barrier measures (wearing protective masks, physical distancing and frequent hand washing) ” to deal with this pandemic.
