Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
The first confirmed case of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in the western state of California, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday.
Omicron has been labelled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organisation and was reported in more than 20 countries before the first infection in the US was discovered by health authorities in San Francisco.
“The individual was a traveller who returned from South Africa on November 22, 2021,” the health agency reported in a statement.
“The individual, who was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has been since testing positive. All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative.”
The person was vaccinated but did not have a booster dose, President Joe Biden's medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, said in the White House press briefing on Wednesday.
The US restricted travel from countries in southern Africa, where Botswana and South Africa were the first to discover the variant.
Mr Biden is expected to speak on any additional international travel measures on Thursday. The Washington Post and Bloomberg say the Biden administration and CDC are considering stricter testing requirements.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious than previous strains, whether it makes people more seriously ill or whether it can overcome the vaccine.
The president has tried to quell alarm over the variant, saying it was a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic".
California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted on the news: “CA’s large-scale testing and early detection systems have found the Omicron Covid-19 variant in California. We should assume that it’s in other states as well.”
Dr Fauci said more would be known about the strain in two to four weeks as scientists grow and test lab samples of the virus.
“What's happening now is another example of why it's important for people to get vaccinated,” he said from the White House, also advising fully vaccinated people to take their booster doses.
A reporter asked the doctor about when the Covid-19 health crisis will end.
“This will end. I promise you that. This will end,” Dr Fauci responded.
Associated Press contributed to this report
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
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if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
