FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* South Africa's daily infection rate could triple to more than 10,000 by the end of this week as the new variant spreads rapidly, an infectious disease expert said. * The African Development Bank has postponed its planned Dec. 1-3 investment forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, due to the Omicron variant.


Reuters | Updated: 29-11-2021 23:55 IST | Created: 29-11-2021 23:55 IST
FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

South Africa called on the world to resist what it said were unjustified and unscientific COVID-19 travel restrictions that mostly hurt developing nations, as more countries closed their borders and reported cases of the new heavily mutated Omicron coronavirus strain. G7 health ministers meanwhile praised South Africa for its work in detecting the new variant and alerting others, and said they would work together to monitor it.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned about the isolation of southern African countries after travel restrictions were imposed by several countries.

* President Xi Jinping said China would offer another 1 billion doses of vaccines to African countries and would encourage Chinese companies to invest $10 billion in Africa over the next three years. * South Africa's daily infection rate could triple to more than 10,000 by the end of this week as the new variant spreads rapidly, an infectious disease expert said.

* The African Development Bank has postponed its planned Dec. 1-3 investment forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, due to the Omicron variant. * Rights groups petitioned Israel's top court to repeal new measures that authorise the country's domestic intelligence service to use counter-terrorism phone tracking technology to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.

EUROPE * European Union leaders are considering a video conference on the COVID-19 situation at the end of this week or next, a senior official said, as Europe becomes the global centre of a latest wave.

* Russia said it would be ready to provide booster shots to protect against the Omicron variant if needed. * Britain will offer a booster shot to all adults in a bid to accelerate its vaccination programme, as eight more Omicron cases were found in the country.

* Austria, Spain, Scotland and Sweden reported their first confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, while Switzerland reported a suspected case. * Poland said it would ban flights to seven African countries, extend quarantines for some travellers and further limit numbers allowed into places like restaurants.

* A couple accused of trying to escape from quarantine in the Netherlands after testing positive have been transferred to a hospital where they were being held in isolation. AMERICAS

* U.S. President Joe Biden urged Americans to wear masks indoors and in public places as the administration braces for the arrival of the new variant - though the nation's top infectious disease official said further restrictions were unlikely. * Paraguay and Chile are imposing travel bans on passengers from certain African countries.

ASIA-PACIFIC * China said it backed strengthening compliance and sharing of information under amendments to the World Health Organization's 2005 International Health Regulations.

* India will make on-arrival COVID-19 testing mandatory for flyers from more than a dozen countries, including South Africa and Britain. * Japan will shut its borders to foreigners while Cambodia is banning entry to travellers from 10 African countries.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * A semblance of calm returned to world markets as investors waited for more details to assess the severity of the Omicron variant on the world economy, allowing battered stocks and oil prices to rebound.

* Airlines are scrambling to limit the impact of the latest coronavirus variant on their networks, while delays in bookings are threatening an already fragile recovery for global tourism. * Even after global markets fell last week on news of the new variant, one cryptocurrency with the same name soared after the Greek letter entered the investor lexicon.

(Compiled by Sarah Morland, Marta Frackowiak and Milla Nissi; Editing by Dan Grebler)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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