So, here we go again…
I’m sure the government have had plenty of time to learn from the handling of the last one…
- The World Health Organization designates the new highly mutated strain of Covid a "variant of concern" and gives it the Greek name Omicron
- Health Secretary Sajid Javid says there is "huge international concern" over the variant - but there are no UK cases
- The variant has been found in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong - and one case has been confirmed in Europe, in Belgium
- EU member states agree to halt travel to and from seven African nations
- Countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, Israel, Japan, Kenya and Singapore have also restricted travel
- The World Health Organization cautions against travel bans but has held a special meeting to discuss the variant
- A top UK health official calls it "the most significant variant" to date, while an Oxford scientist tells the BBC: "It is bad news but it's not doomsday"
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