Omicron - COVID-19 Variant (B.1.1529) a "Variant of Concern" & BA.2 sub-variant, XE

[Okieman]

Belgium confirms case of new, heavily mutated Covid variant
PUBLISHED FRI, NOV 26 20218:43 AM EST

Belgium has confirmed a case of the new, heavily mutated variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, according to one of the country’s leading virologists.

Marc Van Ranst, who works with the Rega Institute for Medical Research, said a sample was confirmed as the novel B.1.1.529 variant in a traveler who returned from Egypt on Nov. 11. The patient first showed symptoms on Nov. 22.

snip

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/26/belgium-confirms-case-of-new-heavily-mutated-covid-variant.html

[gsgs]

Cases increased rapidly in Gauteng in November, particularly in schools and
among young people, according to Lessells.
------------------------------------
2 weeks until BNT knows whether it's a vaccine escape.
Then 100 days until they can deliver the first charges of an adapted vaccine.
Too late for a possible spring-wave in March-April

[sharon sanders]

Reports of various countries border restrictions implemented or under consideration


Coronavirus: EU to block flights after Belgium new variant case

Published1 hour ago

snip

"It is now important that all of us in Europe act very swiftly, decisively and united," she said on Friday.

The EU is already struggling to cope with fresh waves of the virus, and several countries have re-imposed lockdowns and restrictions.

Singapore, Italy, France and Israel are among those who have also placed Mozambique on their red lists.

The Czech Republic will ban anyone who has spent more than 12 hours in those nations and also Zambia from entering as of Saturday.

Japan has announced that from Saturday, travellers from much of southern Africa will need to quarantine for 10 days and take a total of four tests during that time.

"The key to crisis management is to prepare for the worst," the Japan Times newspaper quoted chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno as saying.

more

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59427770

[sharon sanders]

World Health Organization (WHO)

2m
The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution met today to review what is known about the #COVID19 variant B.1.1.529. They advised WHO that it should be designated a Variant of Concern.

[sharon sanders]

Reports of various countries border restrictions implemented or under consideration


Coronavirus: EU to block flights after Belgium new variant case

Published1 hour ago

snip

"It is now important that all of us in Europe act very swiftly, decisively and united," she said on Friday.

The EU is already struggling to cope with fresh waves of the virus, and several countries have re-imposed lockdowns and restrictions.

Singapore, Italy, France and Israel are among those who have also placed Mozambique on their red lists.

The Czech Republic will ban anyone who has spent more than 12 hours in those nations and also Zambia from entering as of Saturday.

Japan has announced that from Saturday, travellers from much of southern Africa will need to quarantine for 10 days and take a total of four tests during that time.

"The key to crisis management is to prepare for the worst," the Japan Times newspaper quoted chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno as saying.

more

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59427770

The Associated Press

@AP

9m
The European Union nations have agreed to impose a ban on travel from southern Africa to counter the spread of a new COVID-19 variant. The risks of the variant remain largely unknown, and medical experts including the WHO have warned against overreaction.

[Mary Wilson]

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Belgium

Report of the National Reference Laboratory (UZ Leuven & KU Leuven)

Situation update – 26 of November 2021 (report 2021_56)

Executive summary

South Africa has communicated on 25/11/2021 the emergence of a new variant of concern (will probably be named Nu, corresponding to the pangolin lineage B.1.1.529). In this report, we discuss the current situation in South Africa and the world, and we assess the current situation in Belgium.

We report here the first case of B.1.1.529 infection in Belgium.

Authors (National Reference Laboratory – UZ Leuven and KU Leuven):

Piet Maes, Lize Cuypers, Simon Dellicour, Guy Baele, Tom Wenseleers, Caspar Geenen, Bram Slechten, Johan Van Weyenbergh, Els Keyaerts, Barney Potter, Sunita Janssenswillen, Elke Wollants, Marc Van Ranst, Emmanuel André.


Table of contents

1. Situation in South Africa
2. Available genomic data worldwide
3. Genetic profile of B.1.1.529
4. High-throughput deep mutational scanning
5. Situation in Belgium
6. First case of B.1.529 in Belgium
7. Recommendations

https://assets.uzleuven.be/files/2021-11/genomic_surveillance_update_211126.pdf

[kiwibird]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59427770

Coronavirus: EU to block flights after Belgium new variant case

EU nations will impose an emergency flight ban on countries in southern Africa after the discovery of a new coronavirus variant there, an EU Commission spokesperson has said.

Eric Mamer said member states agreed to the ban after Europe's first case of the variant was discovered in Belgium.

[kiwibird]

https://twitter.com/Rpshahmemorial1/status/1464102206295052289/photo/1

The 4 cases they found in Botswana were all vaccinated!

https://twitter.com/Rpshahmemorial1/status/1464104659577044994/photo/1

[kiwibird]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belgium-seeks-slow-down-social-life-fight-fourth-covid-wave-2021-11-26/

Belgium's national reference laboratory said the infected person was a young adult woman who had developed symptoms 11 days after returning from a trip to Egypt via Turkey. She had flu-like symptoms, but no signs to date of severe disease.

That is a long incubation period!

[Mary Wilson]

Tracking COVID-19 variant Omicron


Published 11 hours ago
November 26, 2021

... This page will be updated several times a day.

Map of confirmed cases of Omicron

https://bnonews.com/index.php/2021/11/omicron-tracker/

[sharon sanders]

Please also see these other threads on South Africa:

South Africa: Spike in Covid-19 infections may be ‘first signs’ of fourth wave in Gauteng: Prof Bruce Mellado - November 25, 2021

Int J Epidemiol . Estimated SARS-CoV-2 infection rate and fatality risk in Gauteng Province, South Africa: a population-based seroepidemiological survey

South Africa - 1 new outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in lions in zoo, Johannesburg, Gauteng (OIE, July 27, 2021)

Flu is spiking in South Africa, especially over the past 2 weeks - NICD - November 19, 2021

Scientists mystified, wary, as Africa avoids COVID disaster? Not so much.... November 19, 2021

[sharon sanders]

Bushman Lab
@bushmanlab
·
39m
The B.1.1.529 variant has a concerning collection of Spike substitutions; less remarked on, it also has the nucleocapsid substitutions R203K, G204R, which have been reported to increase genome packaging and infectivity (PMID: 34735219). Worrisome.

[sharon sanders]

Trevor Bedford

@trvrb
·
2h
Growth rate (in absolute terms and relative to Delta) will be become clearer in the following days, but at the moment, I believe we're looking at a variant that potentially has significant immune evasion and that appears to be spreading rapidly. 15/16
22
309
711
Trevor Bedford

@trvrb
·
2h
The world should be immensely grateful to
@Tuliodna
,
@ceri_news
,
@nicd_sa
, the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa and the Botswana Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory for discovering this variant and immediately alerting to its existence. 16/16

[Commonground]

November 26

SAMRC records increase in Covid-19 fragments in Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay wastewater

• The South African Medical Research Council says it has seen an increase in Covid-19 fragments in Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay wastewater treatment plants.
• The council monitors wastewater treatment plants in four provinces weekly.
• The team started noticing increases in October.

Excerpt

Dr Rabia Johnson, Deputy Director of the SAMRC's Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, said the picture changed dramatically at the end of October.

"At the beginning of the month, levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments in wastewater were mostly low or undetectable; now we're measuring concentrations last seen during the third Covid-19 wave."

The SAMRC has warned that the rapidly increasing concentrations of Covid-19 RNA fragments in wastewater were a major cause for concern, especially alongside reports of increases in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the past week.

https://www.news24.com/news24/southa...water-20211126

[sharon sanders]

From:
"Media@cdc.gov (CDC)" <sohco@CDC.GOV>
To: <MMWR-MEDIA@LISTSERV.CDC.GOV>
Subject: CDC Media Statement: CDC Statement on B.1.1.529
Date: Nov 26, 2021 9:07 PM

Media Statement

For Immediate Release
Friday, November 26, 2021

Contact: CDC Media Relations
phone number redacted

CDC Statement on B.1.1.529

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified a new variant, B.1.1.529, as a Variant of Concern and has named it Omicron. No cases of this variant have been identified in the U.S. to date. CDC is following the details of this new variant, first reported to the WHO by South Africa. We are grateful to the South African government and its scientists who have openly communicated with the global scientific community and continue to share information about this variant with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CDC. We are working with other U.S. and global public health and industry partners to learn more about this variant, as we continue to monitor its path.
  
CDC is continuously monitoring variants and the U.S. variant surveillance system has reliably detected new variants in this country. We expect Omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the U.S.

We know what it takes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. CDC recommends people follow prevention strategies such as wearing a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high community transmission, washing your hands frequently, and physically distancing from others. CDC also recommends that everyone 5 years and older protect themselves from COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated. CDC encourages a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for those who are eligible.

Travelers to the U.S. should continue to follow CDC recommendations for traveling.

CDC will provide updates as more information becomes available.