Closed borders, prepare for a new viral variant

Instead, the Philippines will attempt to vaccinate up to nine million people in three days, starting Monday. Security forces and tens of thousands of volunteers are assisting in this massive effort.

– The country’s vaccine director says it’s best to be prepared for the Omicron variant Carlito Galvez To CNN in the Philippines.

At the same time, plans are being made to allow fully vaccinated tourists to enter the country in the future – an order that could have come into effect on Wednesday. However, no cases of the new omicron variant were found in the Philippines.

Japan is closing down – again

At the same time, Japan announces that it is closing its borders to all foreigners as a result of the Omicron variable.

The suspension will start from Tuesday, according to the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Japan’s borders have been closed due to the pandemic, but earlier in November it was announced that they will eventually open to some business travelers and foreign students.

About 370,000 people with visas are waiting to enter Japan.

Several other countries have introduced new entry restrictions. Israel imposed a complete moratorium on foreign nationals, while Morocco suspended all flights to the country for a period of two weeks, starting from Monday.

New cases found

New cases of the virus variant are being discovered in more and more countries. Among other things, at least 13 people in the Netherlands, who had just traveled from South Africa, turned out to be wearing Omikron. Canada confirmed its first cases: two people who had recently traveled to Nigeria. Both are self-isolating and authorities are investigating whether they have been in contact with others.

– With continued monitoring and testing, more cases of this variant can be expected to be found in Canada, says the Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.