New Omicron sub-variants are causing Covid-19 cases to rocket in South Africa again.
Infections caused by BA. 4 and BA. 5 have surged in recent weeks, with the country officially entering its fifth wave of the pandemic earlier this week.
So what is different about the Omicron cousins, and should the world be worried?
The National explains.
How long have BA. 4 and 5 been around?
Experts in South Africa think BA. 4 and 5 emerged in mid-December and early January. In February they made up a tiny percentage of Omicron samples in South Africa, at just 0.34 per cent and 0.08 per cent respectively. At the time, BA. 2 dominated. By March, they had reached 14 per cent, and in April BA. 4 and 5 accounted for almost half, at 44 per cent.
Cases, and positivity rates, began climbing again in April as they took hold, following the steep fall after the end of the country’s large BA. 1 wave.
And they have been growing quickly.
On Thursday, the country recorded more than 6,300 new cases with a 21 per cent positivity rate.
That compared to around 4,400 cases with a 15.8 per cent positivity rate a week previously.
The latest numbers are the highest in almost three months and significantly more than two weeks ago.
Why are they causing infections to rise again in South Africa?
Professor Tulio de Oliveira, one of several scientists at South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal who first identified the Omicron variant, said BA. 4 and 5 share a similar spike to BA. 2, which is now dominant globally. But they have four additional mutations.
Of those, F486V shows the biggest potential for immune escape, experts said.
“F486V will further erode neutralisation of Omicron by current vaccines,” tweeted Jesse Bloom, a virologist Jesse Bloom at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle.
“In other words, Omicron BA. 1 and BA. 2 had already escaped a lot of neutralising antibodies elicited by current vaccines/early infections.
“F486V in BA. 4 and BA. 5 will escape a chunk of the remaining antibodies that still neutralise Omicron variants.”
He said that applies only to people who have antibodies from vaccines and pre-Omicron infections.
People who have been infected by BA. 1 and BA. 2 will probably react better to BA. 4 and 5, he said.
Have they been found anywhere else?
Yes. The variants are also present in more than 20 countries, including Botswana, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and the UK. These countries have good surveillance and sequencing systems, like South Africa. These are capable of detecting new variants early, so it is likely these variants are in many other countries too.
Will BA. 4 and 5 cause another wave of hospital admissions?
Ridhwaan Suliman, a researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, a government research institute, tweeted that hospital admissions in South Africa have risen by more than 10 per cent recently. But he cautioned that was from a low base.
He told radio 702 in South Africa it was unlikely that the fifth wave, fuelled by BA. 4 and 5, will be coupled with high hospital admissions or deaths.
Hospital admissions and deaths fell during the fourth wave after the emergence of Omicron, he said.
“There's no indication to expect anything different at this stage,” Dr Suliman told the radio station.
Fellow South African scientist Professor Oliveira does not expect the fifth wave to cause a surge in hospitalisations and deaths in the country, either.
“Our main scenario for Omicron BA. 4 and BA. 5 is that it increases infections but that does not translate into large hospitalisations and deaths,” he tweeted.
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Brief scoreline:
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
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ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Results
Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).
Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2.
Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2.
Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission.
Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission.
Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0)
Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1)
Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision.
Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission.
Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision.
Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission.
Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission.
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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SHAITTAN
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Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
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West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
Roll of honour: Who won what in 2018/19?
West Asia Premiership: Winners – Bahrain; Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership: Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Winners – Dubai Hurricanes; Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference: Winners – Dubai Tigers; Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
