Omicron variant dethrones Delta in South Africa, reaches United States

Germany locks down the unvaccinated; Yellen says pandemic could be here for a while

South Africa’s daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases almost doubled from Tuesday as the Omicron variant spreads across the country and the world. After the US reported its first Omicron case in a fully vaccinated traveller from South Africa, it prepared to announce steps to fight the virus this winter.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said people who aren't vaccinated will be excluded from non-essential stores, cultural and recreational venues, and Parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate, as part of an effort to curb coronavirus infections that again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period. While Norway, too, decided to re-impose some restrictions, the EU said Omicron may cause over half of Covid infections in Europe in a few months.

The rampant surge Omicron cases can be inferred by the situation in South Africa where the number of cases doubled in a day. The country recorded 8,561 infections in the last 24 hours and a positivity rate of 16.5 per cent on tests, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. In an earlier report the institute said 74 per cent of samples that were gene sequenced in the country in November were of Omicron, displacing Delta as the dominant variant.

On November 25, the South African government and leading scientists in the country announced the discovery of the new variant. The strain, they said, was the most mutated yet and while tests needed to be done looked as if it could infect people who have been vaccine.

The new variant has triggered fears that it could hurt the global economic recovery. In an interview  with Reuters, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she hoped the pandemic would not completely stifle economic activity, adding the US stimulus at the start of Covid had helped fuel a very strong recovery.

Despite concerns, market experts like those at JPMorgan Chase said the recent market turmoil caused by the strain offer investors a chance to position for a trend reversal in reopening and commodity trades. While it is likely that omicron is more transmissible, early reports suggest it may also be less deadly, which would fit into the pattern of virus evolution observed historically, strategists Marko Kolanovic and Bram Kaplan wrote in a note Wednesday. This might ultimately be a positive for risk markets because it could signal that the end of the pandemic is in sight, they said.

Global Panic

No oil output cut

Opec and its allies decided on Thursday to release more oil into the market in January in line with previous months. Since August the group has been adding an additional 400,000 bpd of output to global supply each month, gradually winding down record cuts agreed in 2020. Crude oil prices were slightly down after the decision.

Astra’s clot cause

Scientists have identified a possible reason the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine may cause blood clots. The preclinical research, conducted with Astra, found the interaction between the vaccine and a protein known as platelet factor 4 could be behind the cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, according to a study published in Science Advances. The research is not definitive, the firm said.

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• Omicron case with no known travel link detected In England

• China accelerates research into Covid-19 shots