SYDNEY: New Zealand delays plans to reopen its international border due to widespread spread omicron around the world on Tuesday, as many other countries reimposed social distancing measures.
Many countries are on high alert just days ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, as the latest health crisis ravages financial markets, which fear the impact on the global economic recovery.
Omicron infections are rising rapidly across Europe, the United States and Asia, including Japan, where a single cluster at a military base has risen to at least 180 cases.
New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said his country, which had implemented some of the world’s toughest COVID-19 measures, was delaying the start of plans to reopen its border until the end of February.
The government had previously said that quarantine-free travel would reopen for New Zealand citizens and residents of Australia by mid-January – a timetable that would have allowed travel during the peak summer vacation period – and foreigners by April. for tourists.
“No doubt this is disappointing and will upset many vacation plans, but it is important to clearly set out these changes today so that they have time to consider those plans,” Hipkins told a news conference. said.
In India, Chief Minister of New Delhi Arvind Kejriwal Urged citizens to wear masks and urged the federal government to allow booster vaccine doses as the country reported 200 cases in 12 states.
In Singapore, the health ministry was conducting tests to determine whether Omicron was behind a suspected cluster of cases in the gym and warned that more cases were likely.
In the United States, officials said the variant claimed the life of an unconnected man in Texas on Monday after the variant became the dominant strain in the country. Lines for COVID-19 tests wrapped around blocks in New York, Washington and other US cities as people lined up to find out if they were infected before vacationing with family.
South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland were among countries reimposing partial or complete lockdowns, or other social distancing measures, in recent days.
Israel added the United States to its “no-fly” list, citing concerns over the variant, while Kuwait said arriving travelers would need to receive a booster shot if more than nine months after their second vaccine dose. Time has passed.
different approach
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the situation was “extremely difficult” as hospitalizations rose sharply in London. His government was not ruling out any move, including potentially limiting tourism.
In Australia, where cases of omicrons have increased but hospitalizations are relatively low, Prime Minister Scott Morrison Urged state and region leaders to avoid further lockdown.
“We are not going back into lockdown. We are moving forward to live with this virus with common sense and responsibility,” he said.
The Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong last month and has been reported in at least 89 countries so far.
The severity of the disease it causes is not clear, but World Health Organization (WHO) warned that it is spreading faster than the delta version and causing infections in people who have already been vaccinated or who have recovered from the Covid-19 disease.
market influence
The rapid spread of the variant has ignited fears that more countries could impose economically disruptive sanctions, affecting markets.
US stocks ended trading down more than 1% on Monday, while oil investors feared new sanctions in Europe would hit fuel demand, driving down crude prices.
The negative mood brightened somewhat in Asian hours with European and US stock futures turning some assets into Monday’s sell-off buyers, though volumes were lower during the year-end holidays.
The Chinese yuan rose against the softer dollar as investors cautiously returned to riskier assets.
World Economic Forum Due on Monday Omicron postponed its annual meeting in Davos, postponing an event scheduled for January until mid-2022.
More than 274 million people have been reported to have been infected with the coronavirus globally and more than 5.65 million have died since the pandemic began.
Many countries are on high alert just days ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, as the latest health crisis ravages financial markets, which fear the impact on the global economic recovery.
Omicron infections are rising rapidly across Europe, the United States and Asia, including Japan, where a single cluster at a military base has risen to at least 180 cases.
New Zealand’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said his country, which had implemented some of the world’s toughest COVID-19 measures, was delaying the start of plans to reopen its border until the end of February.
The government had previously said that quarantine-free travel would reopen for New Zealand citizens and residents of Australia by mid-January – a timetable that would have allowed travel during the peak summer vacation period – and foreigners by April. for tourists.
“No doubt this is disappointing and will upset many vacation plans, but it is important to clearly set out these changes today so that they have time to consider those plans,” Hipkins told a news conference. said.
In India, Chief Minister of New Delhi Arvind Kejriwal Urged citizens to wear masks and urged the federal government to allow booster vaccine doses as the country reported 200 cases in 12 states.
In Singapore, the health ministry was conducting tests to determine whether Omicron was behind a suspected cluster of cases in the gym and warned that more cases were likely.
In the United States, officials said the variant claimed the life of an unconnected man in Texas on Monday after the variant became the dominant strain in the country. Lines for COVID-19 tests wrapped around blocks in New York, Washington and other US cities as people lined up to find out if they were infected before vacationing with family.
South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland were among countries reimposing partial or complete lockdowns, or other social distancing measures, in recent days.
Israel added the United States to its “no-fly” list, citing concerns over the variant, while Kuwait said arriving travelers would need to receive a booster shot if more than nine months after their second vaccine dose. Time has passed.
different approach
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday the situation was “extremely difficult” as hospitalizations rose sharply in London. His government was not ruling out any move, including potentially limiting tourism.
In Australia, where cases of omicrons have increased but hospitalizations are relatively low, Prime Minister Scott Morrison Urged state and region leaders to avoid further lockdown.
“We are not going back into lockdown. We are moving forward to live with this virus with common sense and responsibility,” he said.
The Omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong last month and has been reported in at least 89 countries so far.
The severity of the disease it causes is not clear, but World Health Organization (WHO) warned that it is spreading faster than the delta version and causing infections in people who have already been vaccinated or who have recovered from the Covid-19 disease.
market influence
The rapid spread of the variant has ignited fears that more countries could impose economically disruptive sanctions, affecting markets.
US stocks ended trading down more than 1% on Monday, while oil investors feared new sanctions in Europe would hit fuel demand, driving down crude prices.
The negative mood brightened somewhat in Asian hours with European and US stock futures turning some assets into Monday’s sell-off buyers, though volumes were lower during the year-end holidays.
The Chinese yuan rose against the softer dollar as investors cautiously returned to riskier assets.
World Economic Forum Due on Monday Omicron postponed its annual meeting in Davos, postponing an event scheduled for January until mid-2022.
More than 274 million people have been reported to have been infected with the coronavirus globally and more than 5.65 million have died since the pandemic began.
,