Regulators in the United Kingdom have given the green light for the use of a monoclonal therapy, called sotrovimab, to treat those at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, with the drug’s manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline saying it “retains activity” against the new Omicron variant.
The news came as South Korea’s daily coronavirus case numbers rose to a new high with authorities halting quarantine exemptions for fully vaccinated inbound travellers for two weeks in a bid to fend off the new variant.
Meanwhile in the United States, fears over the impact of the new coronavirus strain have risen after it reported its first case in a fully vaccinated person in California. The case returned from South Africa on November 22 and tested positive seven days later.
The World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove said on Wednesday that data should be available “within days” on how contagious Omicron is.
Here are the latest updates:
Sweden may impose new measures next week: health agency
The Swedish Public Health Agency said it could impose new COVID-related restrictions next week to fight a rising tide of infections.
Sweden, which introduced vaccine passes for indoor events with more than 100 people at the beginning of this month, had flagged potential additional measures might be needed.
UK approves GSK antibody COVID drug
UK has approved the use of an antibody-based COVID-19 therapy developed by GlaxoSmithKline with its American partner Vir.
The news came just after GlaxoSmithKline said a pre-clinical analysis of the treatment has indicated that the drug also works against the new Omicron variant.
Further tests will be carried out on the sotrovimab therapy to firm up the results, GSK said in a statement.
Japan retracts flight bookings ban after criticisms
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida admitted that the decision to stop taking reservations for inbound international flights caused public confusion and requested the transport ministry to consider people’s wishes to travel home.
The request was put forward the previous day by the transport ministry as an emergency precaution to defend against the Omicron variant. The decision though was reversed after the government received criticisms that the ban was too strict and tantamount to abandoning its own people.
Australia’s New South Wales reports seventh Omicron case
Australia’s tally of people with the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 edged higher on Thursday, prompting state governments to bolster domestic border controls.
The country’s most populous state, New South Wales, reported its seventh case of the variant, a person who arrived on November 23 from Doha, Qatar, and noted that the person had not been in southern Africa.
“We know this virus is dangerous, it does come out in some different forms,” New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters on Thursday. “Don’t take it lightly.”
Indonesia tightens travel curbs as it braces for Omicron arrival
Authorities in Indonesia have tightened border curbs, extended quarantine and limited movement on strategic toll roads, in a preemptive move to limit the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant
New domestic travel measures include limiting the volume of traffic on toll roads to reduce people movement, according to the transport minister.
“This policy… will be evaluated every now and then as we understand and continue digging more information about this new variant,” senior minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in a statement on Wednesday.
FASTEST SURGE TO DATE—The #OmicronVarient is up swinging much faster in both new daily cases and positivity, than all previous waves in South Africa 🇿🇦, according to @nicd_sa data illustrated by @jburnmurdoch. This supports the faster transmission theory of #Omicron. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/BBdAsEGUk0
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 2, 2021
Fauci: It could take weeks to gain more insight on Omicron
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci says it could take two weeks or more to gain an insight into how easily Omicron spreads, the severity of illness it causes, and whether it can evade currently available vaccines.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, which was first detected by South African researchers on November 8 and has spread to at least two dozen countries.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said early epidemiological data suggests Omicron was able to evade some immunity, but existing vaccines should still protect against severe disease and death.
Japan’s bank chief warns of slower economic recovery
Bank of Japan board member Hitoshi Suzuki says Japan’s economic recovery may miss expectations if the spread of Omicron hurts consumption, or supply bottlenecks persist.
“If the impact of supply constraints are bigger or lasts longer than expected, there’s a risk economic growth may further undershoot expectations” next year, Suzuki said.
S Korea halts quarantine exemptions for vaccinated travellers
South Korea has halted quarantine exemptions for fully vaccinated inbound travellers for two weeks after reporting a new high of daily coronavirus cases.
South Korea confirmed its first five Omicron cases on Wednesday.
‘Prepare for the worst, hope for the best’
“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told reporters amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
Von der Leyen made the statement on Wednesday as the EU brought forward the start of its vaccine rollout for 5-to-11-year-olds by a week to December 13, with the president of the EU’s executive body saying it was in a “race against time” to stave off the new variant.
Britain and the US have both expanded their booster programmes in response to the new variant, although the WHO says wealthy countries should instead share more vaccines with vulnerable people in poorer countries where variants are most likely to emerge as long as inoculation rates are low.