Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
America should prepare for the new Omicron coronavirus variant but the travel ban starting on Monday for most travellers from southern Africa should buy time to assess any new threat, US health authorities said on Sunday.
"Inevitably, it will be here," although no cases have been detected yet, the nation's top infectious disease official, Dr Anthony Fauci, told ABC News.
Omicron, which was first detected in southern Africa, has now been confirmed in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and South Africa.
US President Joe Biden, returning to Washington after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, said he would meet his Covid-19 response team on Sunday afternoon and have more to say later.
US health officials will also speak with those in South Africa on Sunday to get "more information in real time", Dr Fauci told NBC.
He said the flight restrictions would give them more time to gather information and consider possible action.
"It is to get us better prepared, to rev up on the vaccination, to be really ready for something that may not actually be a big deal but we want to make sure that we're prepared for the worst," Dr Fauci said.
He said it was too early to know whether new lockdowns or mandates were needed.
"It clearly is giving indication that it has the capability of transmitting rapidly," Dr Fauci said. "That's the thing that's causing us now to be concerned."
Possibly more contagious than previous variants, Omicron has sparked worries worldwide and rattled markets.
Its appearance in the US, where 30 per cent of the population has not had a single dose of vaccine, could undermine the nation's recovery nearly two years after Covid-19's emergence, and further pressure local medical systems already taxed by the Delta variant.
Rising cases as colder weather forces more people indoors has also caused some hospital systems and US states, including New York, to declare emergencies.
So far, nearly 782,000 people have died in the US from Covid-19 since early 2020, the most of any country in the world, amid more than 48 million infections, Reuters data show.
Starting at midnight on Monday, the US will bar entry for almost all foreign nationals who have been in any of eight southern African countries in the past 14 days and has warned Americans against travelling to those nations.
Flights by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have continued from South Africa to the US since the variant was discovered.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention did not immediately respond to a request for information about whether passengers from these flights were being screened.
Dr Fauci and other top officials said the sudden burst of cases made Omicron worrisome and it remained unclear how current vaccines or treatments could be affected.
"We need more data there before we can say confidently that this is not a severe version of the virus, but we should find that out in the next couple weeks," departing National Institutes of Health director Dr Francis Collins told Fox News.
Vaccine makers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna say they expect more information soon.
"We have to go through a couple of weeks yet of uncertainty," Moderna chief medical officer Dr Paul Burton told CNN.
Dr Burton said Omicron's transmissibility and severity were also unknown, along with current vaccines' effectiveness against it.
Dr Fauci pressed Americans to continue have Covid-19 vaccines and boosters while experts evaluate Omicron.
"This is a clarion call: get vaccinated," he said.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain echoed that sentiment, saying on Twitter: "The thing every vaccinated adult should do now, if they have not done it yet, is get a booster shot."
The US has recorded more than 1.1 million new Covid-19 cases in the past 14 days, up 9 per cent from the prior two weeks, Reuters data shows.
Michigan and Minnesota lead the nation in new cases, based on infections for every 100,000 residents.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson expressed worry over another blow from the latest variant.
"Delta has been tough on us," Mr Hutchinson told CNN. "And so we don't welcome a new variant and it is a great concern."
The variant could cast a pall over the rest of the US holiday season and affect companies' plans for staff to return to offices.
Banks and other companies have said they planned for workers to come back in January.
On Wall Street, sources at major US banks and European banks with large American operations said they were not yet changing their policies but were monitoring the situation.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company%20profile
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Persuasion
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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THURSDAY FIXTURES
4.15pm: Italy v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: Egypt v Mexico (Group B)
6.45pm: UAE v Japan (Group A)
8pm: Iran v Russia (Group B)
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
