新毒株“奥密克戎”来袭！2架南非航班查出61例阳性，多国实施国际旅行限制防范扩散感染！（附视频&解说稿）
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当地时间27日，荷兰卫生部发布声明称，26日从南非至荷兰的两趟航班的600名乘客中，有61例检出新冠病毒阳性。荷兰卫生部门正在对阳性样本进行“奥密克戎”毒株筛查。
11月27日下午，新华社驻外记者报道：一些国家近日报告了新冠病毒新型变异毒株B.1.1.529，世界卫生组织在11月26日将其列为“需要关注”的变异毒株，并以希腊字母“奥密克戎”（Ο）命名。为防范这一新型毒株入境和扩散，多国对非洲南部地区的航班和旅客实施入境限制，并升级防控措施。
据今日俄罗斯电视台报道，目前，奥密克戎变异株正以惊人的速度在非洲和非洲以外地区传播。 世卫组织表示， 目前对这一新型变异毒株还所知甚少，评估它是否更具有传染力或对疫苗更具有抗药性，仍需要更多实验数据。
英国专家称， 奥密克戎变异株携带着一系列不寻常的突变， 有可能是在某个免疫力低下病例的慢性感染期间发生的变异，也有可能来自某个未经治疗的艾滋病患者。
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WILLIAM BRANGHAM: They're calling it Omicron, and its emergence is reverberating around the world tonight.
Key questions remain unanswered, but this new mutation of the coronavirus has already prompted a wave of reactions.
Word of the new variant triggered crowded scenes at airports, heavy selling on world markets, and appeals from health experts not to panic.
The World Health Organization held an emergency meeting in Geneva, and one of its top COVID researchers, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said this new version of the virus appears highly transmissible.
DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, World Health Organization: What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations, and the concern is that, when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The WHO designated the new variant as Omicron.
It first emerged in Southern Africa.
And the first reported case outside of the continent was in Belgium.
FRANK VANDENBROUCKE, Belgian Health Minister (through translator): We have one confirmed case.
It is someone who came from abroad.
He was not vaccinated and had no prior infection.
But I want to repeat that this is a suspicious variant.
We don't know if it's a very dangerous variant.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Although it is still unclear how effective COVID vaccines are against this new variant, some South African scientists said today they believe that current shots will still prevent severe disease.
but alarm is growing in nations already facing an uptick in infections due to the Delta variant.
SAJID JAVID, British Health Minister: It may be more transmissible than the Delta variant, and it -- and the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective against it.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Many European nations that were facing this Delta wave were contemplating lockdowns before Omicron appeared.
Today, a number of European governments banned flights from South Africa, despite the WHO's call to avoid any hasty reactions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: URSULA VON DER LEYEN, President, European Commission: All air travel to these countries should be suspended.
They should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: U.S.officials also met today and issued a travel ban affecting seven Southern African countries.
In Nantucket, Massachusetts, President Biden said he wants to proceed with caution.
JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: We don't know a lot about the variant, except that there's a concern it is of great concern.
It seems to spread rapidly.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Cape Town, South Africa travelers rushed to get on flights.
JULIE CARLEM, Traveler: My family live in Australia, and I'm going back to see them before the country shuts down.
So I don't know when I will able to return.
I had to leave my job behind.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Meanwhile, oil prices and stock markets around the world plummeted over fears of the Omicron variant and its potential economic fallout.
The Dow fell 905 points.
That's 2.5 percent, marking its worst one-day percentage loss in a year.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also dropped more than 2 percent.
So, clearly, this new variant is generating many questions and concerns.
For some perspective, I'm joined again tonight by Dr.
Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University.
Dr. Jha, always great to see you.
The markets are spooked.
Travel restrictions are being implemented.
I don't want to panic anyone unnecessarily.
So, in your perspective, how concerned should we be?
DR. ASHISH JHA, Dean, Brown University School of Public Health: So, good evening.
William. Thanks for having me back.
You know, we have seen variants come and go, and every month or two, we hear about one.
This one is concerning.
This one is different.
There's a lot of features here that have me and many of us concerned about this, and we really need more information, but we have got to pay attention to this variant.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So what are the things that jump to mind as most concerning off the top of the bat? DR.
ASHISH JHA: Yes, so first and foremost is, we have seen a huge uptick of this variant in South Africa, that it has really taken off very, very quickly, much faster than we saw the Delta or the Alpha variant, suggesting, not proving, but suggesting that it may be a lot more contagious.
And then there are mutations on this virus that really make many of us concerned that our vaccine effectiveness may take a hit as well.
So there are several features here that I think have a lot of us looking for more data and just concerned about where this is going.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That concern about the effectiveness of vaccines, I know, is top of mind for many Americans, basically anyone that has gotten a vaccine already.
How will we know when or whether this variant is punching through the vaccine?
DR.ASHISH JHA: So, we should actually have some preliminary data in the next few days.
We're doing laboratory studies right now, looking at serum, basically blood of people who've been vaccinated, and saying that do the antibodies that the vaccines generate, can they neutralize this virus? We will have that data, I think, maybe within even a week.
That will be extremely helpful.
There are going to be more careful studies that will be needed.
But that might take longer.
But that alone, I think, will help a lot.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And what about the concern over whether this variant makes people who do get infected sicker? DR.
ASHISH JHA: Yes, that's always one of the critical questions that we ask about variants.
We have no information about that right now.
There's a few anecdotal stories, but we really need extensive testing.
We need to get a good grip on how many people have been infected, hospitalizations, and deaths.
All those data need to be put together.
That's probably many, many weeks away before we have a good answer on that question.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, one of the reasons that we know about this variant is because the South Africans have a great research community.
They do a lot of genomic sequencing, much more so than we do here, which leads some people to make the assumption that this variant is already in America.
Do you believe that that's true? And, if so, what does that mean for us?
DR.ASHISH JHA: Yes, I think it's possible that it's here in the United States.
We know it's in Belgium.
We know it's in parts of Asia.
It wouldn't be surprising if it's here in the U.S. If it isn't, it will get here very quickly.
Again, one of the things about South Africa is, they do such a good job of surveillance that they often identify things early.
It doesn't mean it started there.
It doesn't even mean it that it's most prominent there.
We have got to look more carefully within the United States.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, with all these European nations and now the United States announcing some kind of travel ban, does that strike you as a good strategy? Should we be doing that? Or, as some people have suggested, are we unfairly punishing the South Africans and others for alerting us to this threat? DR.
ASHISH JHA: Yes, so here's what we know about the data about travel bans.
Travel bans, assuming that most of the cases are in South Africa, or Southern Africa, travel bans will slow the spread of those -- of that virus into the U.S.
by probably about a week or two compared to if we didn't have a travel ban at all.
That's helpful on the margins.
But there's no doubt there's a cost here.
And the cost is that we're taking a country that's done a fabulous job, has identified the variant, been very open and transparent, and we're punishing them for it.
So, net-net, I'm not sure it's such a good policy.
In the long run, it may have a chilling effect on other countries, who may say, well, maybe we don't want to share variant information, if we're going to have travel bans.
So we want to be very careful as we tread on this issue.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In addition to this variant, we know that Delta has been causing an enormous problem in Europe and still here in parts of the United States.
And we know that these variants in some ways compete for dominance.
Do you have a sense of why Delta is wreaking such havoc in Europe right now? DR.
ASHISH JHA: Yes, Delta is -- until again, this new variant -- and we will see what happens with this new one.
But until this appeared, Delta was by far the most contagious variant we had seen.
And Europe is going through its winter, and weather is getting colder.
People are coming inside.
And they have not seen the kind of Delta wave that the Southern part of the United States saw, that India saw.
So, essentially, what you have in Europe is a lot of unvaccinated people, so people who have chosen not to be vaccinated, colder weather, people spending more time indoors, and relaxation of any public health measures like masks or social distancing.
And that's really what's driving these huge surges in cases across Europe.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And, right now, we just don't have any way of knowing whether this variant will become the preeminent variant.
It's too early to tell.
DR. ASHISH JHA: It's really early to tell.
It has happened to some extent in South Africa.
That's what concerns all of us, how quickly that has happened.
But whether that will play out in the rest of the world, we just don't know right now.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On the issue of global vaccine equity, I mean, we know that variants are created when viruses can replicate unchecked.
And even if you put aside the moral argument for why we should be getting vaccines elsewhere in the world, from a purely selfish standpoint, this seems to be a textbook example as to why we should be getting vaccines to the countries that need it the most, to stop this from happening.
DR. ASHISH JHA: Absolutely.
This pandemic doesn't end until most of the world is vaccinated.
And while we have made progress in many, many parts of the world, Africa, the continent of Africa, has really been lacking in vaccine supply.
We have just not done a good enough job.
Now, the U.S.government might say, we have sent a couple of 100 million doses abroad.
That's good, not nearly enough.
And the Europeans have not done enough as well.
So I think all of us have to make a much more concerted effort to get vaccines out globally, particularly to the people of Africa.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Dr. Ashish Jha, always good to see you.
Thank you very much for being here.
DR. ASHISH JHA: Thank you.
多国实施国际旅行限制
防范变异毒株“奥密克戎”扩散
加拿大政府26日宣布，从当天开始禁止在过去14天内到过非洲南部7国的外国人进入加拿大，并禁止这7个国家的航班进入加拿大。这7个国家包括南非、莫桑比克、纳米比亚、津巴布韦、博茨瓦纳、莱索托和斯威士兰。
加拿大卫生部长让-伊夫·杜克洛宣布了五项防控新变异毒株的措施：禁止在过去14天内到过这7国的所有外国人入境；过去14天所有从这7国抵达加拿大的人都必须立即自我隔离并接受病毒检测；从这7国返回的加拿大国民和永久居民在抵达时必须接受检测和隔离，并在隔离的第8天再一次接受检测；经停其他国家回加拿大的国民和永久居民必须在经停国接受检测；加拿大外交部将发布一项旅行警告，建议所有加拿大人避免前往非洲南部。
欧盟26日决定启动“紧急刹车”机制，暂停往返上述非洲南部7国的航班。
欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩当天发表声明说，变异毒株可能会在几个月内传遍全世界。欧委会向欧盟各成员国提议，暂停欧盟与非洲南部7国以及其他有感染病例的国家之间的旅行。欧盟轮值主席国斯洛文尼亚26日晚在社交媒体证实，欧盟国家代表当天下午召开紧急会议，同意启动“紧急刹车”机制。
比利时卫生大臣弗兰克·范登布鲁克26日证实，该国确诊一例新型变异毒株感染者。这位确诊者有国外旅行史，11日到比利时，22日新冠病毒检测呈阳性。尽管这位确诊者并没有到过非洲南部地区，但当天比利时首相德克罗在全国协商委员会会议后宣布，比利时将很快按照欧盟委员会的建议，停飞往返非洲南部地区的航班。
比利时全国协商委员会当天公布的新措施包括：关闭夜总会和舞厅；餐馆、酒吧、咖啡馆每日停止营业的时间提前至23时；禁止在家中以外的室内私人聚会；每周4天居家办公的实施截止日期从12月12日延长至19日；体育比赛可在室内举行，但不能有观众等。
以色列卫生部26日也宣布该国发现首例新型变异毒株感染者以及两名疑似感染者。以色列政府当天召开紧急会议，宣布非洲中部和南部地区所有国家为“红色区域”，禁止来自这些国家的人员入境，该决定立刻生效。上周已经从这些国家回国的以色列人，要立刻开始在酒店进行为期14天的隔离。
以总理贝内特表示，这种变异毒株“非常令人担心”，以色列“在进入紧急状态的边缘”，所有人都要严阵以待。另据《耶路撒冷邮报》26日报道，以色列可能会关闭该国唯一的国际机场本·古里安机场，禁止外国人入境。
欧洲疾控中心26日发布评估报告说，根据现有基因数据，新的变异毒株风险为“高”，它拥有新冠大流行以来检测到的数量最多的变异，由于它可能大大降低疫苗的有效性，增加重复感染的风险，因而引起人们严重关切。
欧洲疾控中心主任安德烈娅·阿蒙说，人们对于这种变异毒株的传播性、疫苗的保护力、重复感染的风险等仍不清楚，现阶段必须积极主动地采取预防措施以争取时间。阿蒙建议，首先必须缩小免疫力差距；第二应考虑为所有成年人提供加强针；第三要加强实施非药物干预措施，包括戴口罩、远程办公、减少使用公共交通、确保室内通风以及卫生措施等。
澳大利亚卫生部长格雷格·亨特27日宣布，澳政府将实施额外的边境安全措施，其中包括暂停来自9个非洲国家的航班。“暂停令”预计持续14天。新的安全措施还规定，如果不是澳公民或永久居民，在过去14天到过这些国家的人将暂时不能入境。
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