Mary Onyia
:As 3 New Variants Of Omicron Discovered In Scotlant, Uk; Countries Widen Their Travel Ban
Omicron, the new coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa, experts say poses a very high global risk and is likely to spread internationally.
Strings of countries world over, at the news of the spread of this virus, are responding swiftly by widening their ban on entry for non-residents.
Hong Kong has stretched its travel ban to include, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola in addition to Botswana and South Africa, where the first trace of the omicron was discovered. They are not allowed to enter as of 30 November. Non-residents who have been to Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel and Italy in the past 21 days will not be allowed to enter the city from 2 December.
It will be recalled that only recently Canada discovered the omicron variant on two travelers from Nigeria.
The current vaccines, experts say, may not be effective at tackling this new omicron variant and therefore may require another type of vaccine more effective brand.
To this end scientists are working on new vaccines specifically tailored or targeted at omicron should the old vaccines prove ineffective.
Meanwhile the new variant is taking its toll on the international market. Across the pond, S&P 500 futures (ES=F) were down 0.9%, Dow futures (YM=F) shed 1.1%, and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were 0.5% lower as trade began in Europe.
It came after a positive session on Monday for Wall Street, which reacted positively to news from US president Joe Biden that new lockdowns as a result of the variant were off the cards for now.
Later on Tuesday, chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell will testify to the Senate and explain how the Omicron variant poses a downside risk to the US economy, and complicates the inflation picture.
Asian markets slumped in late trading on Tuesday, giving up early gains as investors worried the Omicron variant will prove more resistant to vaccines and could cause further economic disruption.
In Japan, the Nikkei (^N225) ended 1.6% lower on the day, retracting all of the 1.2% gain it made earlier in the session.
The Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 1.6% in Hong Kong, and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) closed flat as activity in China’s services sector grew at a slightly slower pace in November.
Official data released on Tuesday showed that the sector took a hit from fresh lockdown measures as authorities raced to contain the latest outbreak.