While countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark reported on Sunday the first cases of coronavirus belonging to the latest variant Ómicron, other countries such as Israel and Morocco reinforced their controls and restrictive measures for the entry of travelers and tourists. First, Israel banned the entry of any foreigner and demands a quarantine for all its citizens arriving from abroad. It also restricted travel to 50 of the 54 countries in Africa.For its part, the United Kingdom tightened on Saturday the mandatory use of masks and controls at airports after detecting two cases of the Ómicron variant in travelers. Spain announced that it will not admit unvaccinated Britons from December 1. While Morocco became the first country to suspend for two weeks the entry of flights from anywhere in the world due to the rapid spread of the variant, announced its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Originated in the southern region of Africa the Ómicron variant has already expanded outside the continent a few days after its discovery. While some researchers fear that it may be resistant to vaccines, others indicate that so far the cases have been “mild” that have not required hospitalization. In Europe, their arrival occurs in the midst of a resurgence, especially among the unvaccinated. In fact, cases of the mutation have already been identified in countries in Europe and Asia, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Israel and Hong Kong.Health authorities in the Netherlands reported that 13 of 61 people who were in quarantine after having tested positive for coronavirus two days ago when arriving on flights from South Africa were infected with the Ómicron variant.
Meanwhile Australia said the two passengers who tested positive for the variant were among a group of 14 people who arrived in Sydney yesterday from southern Africa. New Zealand announced travel restrictions from nine southern African countries while Japan expanded its border controls to include nine more countries in the same region.
