US Prez Calls Omicron Cause For Concern 'Not Panic', Says Doesn't See Lockdowns Or Travel Restrictions

Biden told Americans that he doesn't foresee lockdowns or extending travel restrictions. He also said that the United States was in a good position to control Omicron's spread.

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New Delhi: US President Joe Biden on Monday said that the new strain of Covid-19 virus Omicron is not a cause for panic. The G7 health ministers on Monday called for "urgent action" to combat the newly identified Omicron Covid-19 variant spreading across the world reported AFP. 

Biden told Americans that he doesn't foresee lockdowns or extending travel restrictions. He also said that the United States was in a good position to control Omicron's spread.

His chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci expects current vaccines to work against the new variant, with boosters enhancing protection. US drugmakers Pfizer and Russia's Sputnik V were working on their version of vaccines that would target Omicron meanwhile, US drugmaker Moderna said it was working on a booster shot that would target Omicron said AFP report. 

After the emergency talks, G7 health ministers said "the global community is faced with the threat of a new, at a first evaluation, highly transmissible variant of COVID-19, which requires urgent action."

The first case was detected in Southern Africa on November 9, though no deaths have been reported yet by this strain. The World Health Organization said the overall risk from Omicron was very high, the health organization also warn that any surge could put pressure on the health systems and could cause more deaths. 

"If another major surge of Covid-19 takes place driven by Omicron, consequences may be severe," the WHO cautioned, concluding that "the overall global risk related to the new VOC (a variant of concern) Omicron is assessed as very high", quoted the organization as saying. 

Closing borders and restrictions 

Many countries have decided to close down borders for foreign travellers, including Japan & Israel. Australia announced it was going to delay the relaxation of restrictions that would have allowed skilled workers and foreign students to enter by two weeks. 

According to AFP, there's already a growing list of countries to impose travel curbs on southern Africa includes Britain, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Western Europe, especially,  which has already struggled with rapid rises in cases and has reintroduced mandatory mask-wearing, social-distancing measures, curfews or lockdowns.

However, it is getting difficult for the government to keep the population under control or enforce new measures. In Austria, tens of thousands took to the streets over the weekend to object to mandatory vaccinations.

"The people of Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccinations available in Africa -- and they should not be penalised for identifying and sharing crucial science and health information with the world," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres quoted AFP. 

There are at least 10 mutations to Omicron, compared with three for Beta or two for Delta. However, South African doctor Angelique Coetzee says that the symptoms were milder in the cases she saw than other variants.