New Covid Strain In Europe

Dutch health authorities said on Tuesday that the Omicron variant was present in the Netherlands earlier than previously thought, and before South Africa had first reported the new strain of Covid-19.

Britain, Germany and Italy detected cases of the new 'Omicron' coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa.

There is a "high to very high" risk that the new Covid variant, dubbed Omicron and originally detected in South Africa, will spread in Europe, the European Union's health agency said Friday.

A fresh set of travel guidelines has been issued as two new, more infectious strains of Covid -- the South African and the Brazilian strains -- have been detected in India. The new rules apply to all incoming international passengers except those from the UK, Europe and Middle East, the health ministry has said.

More than 400,000 people have now died from coronavirus in the United States, figures showed Tuesday, as some European nations battled record surges in daily fatalities with the fear of new strains taking hold.

The World Health Organization in Europe said Tuesday it would convene its members to discuss how to handle the outbreak of a new variant of the novel coronavirus discovered in the UK.

The news of a new strain of coronavirus being observed in the UK and other countries in Europe has seen many countries restricting flights from the UK. India has also issued guidelines to this effect, and Karnataka's Health Minister K Sudhakar confirmed that the state would act on the centre's decisions.

Sputnik V, the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, will be "highly effective" against the new strain of coronavirus found in Europe, said Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Russian Direct Investment Fund, the company which co-developed the vaccine.

Dutch health authorities said on Tuesday that the Omicron variant was present in the Netherlands earlier than previously thought, and before South Africa had first reported the new strain of Covid-19.

Britain, Germany and Italy detected cases of the new 'Omicron' coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa.

There is a "high to very high" risk that the new Covid variant, dubbed Omicron and originally detected in South Africa, will spread in Europe, the European Union's health agency said Friday.

A fresh set of travel guidelines has been issued as two new, more infectious strains of Covid -- the South African and the Brazilian strains -- have been detected in India. The new rules apply to all incoming international passengers except those from the UK, Europe and Middle East, the health ministry has said.

More than 400,000 people have now died from coronavirus in the United States, figures showed Tuesday, as some European nations battled record surges in daily fatalities with the fear of new strains taking hold.

The World Health Organization in Europe said Tuesday it would convene its members to discuss how to handle the outbreak of a new variant of the novel coronavirus discovered in the UK.

The news of a new strain of coronavirus being observed in the UK and other countries in Europe has seen many countries restricting flights from the UK. India has also issued guidelines to this effect, and Karnataka's Health Minister K Sudhakar confirmed that the state would act on the centre's decisions.

Sputnik V, the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, will be "highly effective" against the new strain of coronavirus found in Europe, said Kirill Dmitriev, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Russian Direct Investment Fund, the company which co-developed the vaccine.