[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As the new COVID-19 variant Omicron spreads and the world is gripped by fear, health ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) have agreed on the need for urgent response measures.
On the 29th (local time), G7 ministers held an emergency video conference regarding Omicron and stated in a released statement that the international community is facing the threat of a highly transmissible variant and emphasized the necessity of urgent action.
They also highly praised South Africa for discovering the Omicron variant and raising the alarm. This is interpreted as an attempt to appease South Africa, which opposed the rapid travel bans imposed by various countries following the report of the Omicron variant.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa protested on the same day, saying, "The world needs to refrain from unjust and unscientific travel restrictions."
President Ramaphosa made this remark at the opening ceremony of the China-Africa Summit held in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, pointing out that travel restrictions generally harm developing countries.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the strong transmissibility of Omicron could lead to a significant increase in deaths and put pressure on global health systems.
The WHO stated, "If a large-scale COVID-19 surge driven by Omicron recurs, the consequences could be very serious," and assessed that "the overall global risk related to Omicron is very high."
In Portugal, 13 people including players and staff of the professional football club Belenenses were infected with Omicron, marking the first cluster infection case in Europe, and the spread is accelerating.
Most of the infected showed no or mild symptoms, and currently, 44 other players and staff are in quarantine awaiting test results.
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