International travelers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) arrive at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport, Monday, November 29, as Australia records its first cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19.Australia has brought in travel bans and new quarantine orders because of concerns about the new omicron COVID-19 variant first reported in southern Africa. Two cases have been discovered in travelers arriving in Australia.
Urgent testing is underway to determine whether passengers infected with COVID-19 who have arrived in Sydney from southern Africa are carrying the omicron variant.
The travelers have been taken to so-called Special Health Accommodation where they will spend 14 days in quarantine.
The World Health Organization has declared omicron a “variant of concern” as researchers work to establish whether it is more infectious than other strains.
Australia has moved quickly to impose strict border controls. Noncitizens from nine southern African countries are banned. They are South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini — formerly known as Swaziland — the Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique.
The omicron variant has been detected in Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Australia has recorded 206,000 COVID-19 cases and almost 2,000 deaths since the pandemic began. Currently, 536 patients need hospital care, according to the Health Department.
