I.A case of the new Coronavirus variant Omikron has been detected in Hesse. The sequencing had confirmed the variant in the suspected case announced on Saturday, said Hessian Minister of Social Affairs Kai Klose on Sunday afternoon on Twitter. The Ministry of Social Affairs confirmed the information. After two confirmed cases in Bavaria, it is the third overall in Germany.
The Hessian returnee was therefore fully vaccinated, then developed symptoms over the course of the week and had himself tested. According to the city of Frankfurt, the health department is currently testing all travelers from South Africa and Namibia immediately after their disembarkation at Frankfurt Airport. In the previous tests at the airport, no travelers had tested positive.
Because of the spread in southern Africa, the federal government drastically restricted entry from a total of eight countries in the region. South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi and Lesotho will be classified as virus variant areas as of this Sunday. But the mutation has already been detected in Europe.
Airlines are essentially only allowed to carry German citizens or people living in Germany from there to Germany. But it is not a flight ban. A two-week quarantine obligation applies to those entering the country – including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. It cannot be shortened by negative tests either.
There are still only a few proven cases of the new virus variant Omikron outside of Africa. The variant with the scientific name B.1.1.529, which is classified as “worrying” by the World Health Organization, was in on Thursday South Africa first reported worldwide. According to scientists, Omikron could be even more contagious than the currently rampant Delta variant because of the unusually large number of mutations and make the vaccines less effective.
Overview of proven cases of infection and suspected cases:
In Germany three cases have been confirmed so far. The first two were identified in Munich. The two travelers had arrived on a flight from South Africa on November 24th. According to the virologist Oliver Keppler, genome sequencing is still pending. But it is “proven beyond doubt that it is this variant”. After reporting on the new virus variant, the two people affected “had a look ahead to an examination of the variant themselves,” said a ministry spokeswoman in Munich.
The third case in Hesse was confirmed on Sunday. Another suspected case in Bavaria became known on Sunday. The Omikron variant could also have reached North Rhine-Westphalia. “In North Rhine-Westphalia it has not yet been detected, but there are first suspected cases in Essen and Düsseldorf that are now being checked using sequencing,” said a spokesman for the NRW Ministry of Health of the “Rheinische Post” (Monday edition).
That is how dangerous the corona mutation Omikron is
In the middle of the fourth wave, the new Coronavirus variant Omikron is causing fear. There are now also confirmed cases in Germany. Meanwhile, the world medical chief warns that even worse variants could arise in the future, which are as dangerous as Ebola.
Source: WELT / Viktoria Schulte
Also from Austria a first suspected case was reported on Saturday. According to the authorities, there is a positive PCR test result in the state of Tyrol, which is related to a trip to South Africa, reported the Austrian news agency APA. After the initial test by the Innsbruck virology department, there was a specific suspicion that it could be Omikron, the authorities said.
The person concerned was double vaccinated, but the second vaccination was already around nine months ago, it said.
Australia reported the first cases on Saturday. Two passengers on a flight from South Africa to Sydney tested positive for the new virus variant on Saturday, the health authority of the state of New South Wales announced on Sunday. Both were fully vaccinated and had no symptoms.
The remaining passengers and crew were instructed to isolate themselves. The plane arrived on the same day that the Australian government announced the suspension of air traffic with nine countries in southern Africa, including South Africa and Zimbabwe.
In Belgium the new variant of the coronavirus was detected for the first time in Europe. An investigation on Friday showed that it was variant B.1.1.529, which first appeared in South Africa, tweeted the well-known virologist Marc Van Ranst. It comes from a traveler who came back to Belgium from Egypt on November 11 and showed the first symptoms on November 22.
Great Britain confirmed two cases of coronavirus infection with the new variant on Saturday. Health Minister Sajid Javid said two people in the south-east English city of Brentwood and the central English city of Nottingham had tested positive for it. There is a connection between the cases. They went back to a trip from southern Africa. The government had previously announced that one of the locations with the infections was Chelmsford. She did not give a reason for the change to Brentwood. Great Britain tightened its rules for travelers from all over the world on Saturday. All arrivals must take a PCR test on day two after their entry and go into quarantine until they receive a negative test result, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced.
In Italy the omicron variant was also found. This is announced by the national health institute ISS. The variant was confirmed in a person who entered from Mozambique. The patient is in good physical condition.
Also in Czech Republic the newly discovered Corona variant has been proven. After a so-called genome sequencing, this is “with around 90 percent certainty”, said a spokesman for the hospital in Liberec (Reichenberg) in northern Bohemia on Saturday evening on the public television channel CT. Another sample was sent to the national reference laboratory in Prague for further analysis.
In Denmark two cases of the omicron variant were found in travelers from South Africa. This is announced by the health authority Statens Serum Institut.
In the Netherlands the health authorities found 13 cases of infection with the Omikron variant. The National Health Institute (RIVM) announced that it was passengers who arrived on flights from South Africa during the week.
In the United States the virus has not yet been reported. But US immunologist Anthony Fauci thinks it is possible that the omicron variant classified as worrying is already in the USA. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it did,” he said on US television on Saturday. However, no such cases have yet been reported. Ultimately, it is almost inevitable that the variant will spread around the world. Travel restrictions could only buy time to learn more about the variant, said the presidential advisor.
Two confirmed Omicron cases in Hong Kong apparently show a very rapidly increasing viral load. The PCR tests of the two men, who were negative a few days earlier, had a Ct value of 18 and 19. “That is incredibly high, especially when you consider that the two were still negative in the last PCR tests” writes epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding. It looks as if the variant could actually escape vaccination protection, Feigl-Ding continued.
Israel discovered the new variant when a traveler returned from Malawi. The Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the person and two suspected cases had been isolated. All three are vaccinated, their exact vaccination status is being checked. Seven more cases are being investigated Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the country was on the verge of an emergency. The new variant is more contagious than Delta and also spreads faster.
To curb the spread, Israel closes its borders to foreigners. According to Israeli media reports, the coronavirus cabinet decided on these and other restrictions on Saturday evening. The new restrictions are due to take effect this Sunday evening.