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A passenger arrives at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel on Jan 25, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun) - 

Israel on Saturday (Nov 27) said it would ban the entry of all foreigners into the country, making it the first country to shut its borders completely in response to a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant, and said it would use counter-terrorism phone-tracking technology in order to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days. Officials hope that within that period there will be more information on how effective COVID-19 vaccines are against Omicron, which was first detected in South Africa and has been dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

"Our working hypotheses are that the variant is already in nearly every country," Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked told N12's Meet the Press, "and that the vaccine is effective, although we don't yet know to what degree".

Israelis entering the country, including those who are vaccinated, will be required to quarantine, Bennett said. The ban will come into effect at midnight between Sunday and Monday. A travel ban on foreigners coming from most African states was imposed on Friday.

The Shin Bet counter-terrorism agency's phone-tracking technology will be used to locate carriers of the new variant in order to curb its transmission to others, Bennett said.

Used on and off since March 2020, the surveillance technology matched virus carriers' locations against other mobile phones nearby to determine with whom they had come into contact. Israel's Supreme Court this year limited the scope of its use after civil rights groups mounted challenges over privacy concerns.

The variant, which has also been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Hong Kong, Italy, Germany and Britain, has sparked global concern and a wave of travel curbs, although epidemiologists say such restrictions may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally.

Israel has so far confirmed one case of Omicron, with seven suspected cases. The Health Ministry has not said whether the confirmed case was vaccinated. Three of the seven suspected cases were fully vaccinated, the ministry said on Saturday, and three had not returned from travel abroad recently.

About 57 per cent of Israel's 9.4 million population is fully vaccinated, according to the Health Ministry, which means they have either received a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine or it has not yet been five months since they received their second dose. Israel has recorded 1.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 8,000 fatalities since the pandemic began//CNA

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a media briefing on the latest COVID-19 update in the Downing Street briefing room, central London on Nov 27, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Hollie Adams) - 

Britain announced new measures on Saturday (Nov 27) to try to slow the spread of the newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant and a top health official said there was a "reasonable chance" that vaccines could be less effective against it.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said arrivals from all countries would have to self-isolate until receiving a negative result from a PCR test, that face masks must be worn in retail settings and it was time to step up booster jabs.

"We need to buy time for our scientists to understand exactly what we are dealing with," he told a news conference.

Johnson said those who had come into contact with people testing positive for a suspected case of Omicron would have to self-isolate for 10 days and that face masks must be worn in shops and on public transport but not restaurants and pubs in England.

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty told the same news conference there was a reasonable chance that the newly identified variant could be less easy to tackle with vaccines.

"There is a reasonable chance that at least there will be some degree of vaccine escape with this variant," he said.

Health minister Sajid Javid confirmed earlier on Saturday the first two cases of the new variant in Britain, saying they were linked to each other and connected to travel to southern Africa.

The two individuals and all members of their households were being re-tested and told to self-isolate while further testing and contact tracing was done.

England will also add Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola to its travel "red list" from 0400 GMT on Sunday, meaning British and Irish residents who arrive in the country must quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days. Non-residents will be refused entry.

That list already contained Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe//CNA

Switzerland adds Britain, Netherlands, three others to quarantine list - 

Switzerland on Saturday (Nov 27) widened quarantine requirements to stem the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant to travellers arriving from Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi, where cases have been detected, its health ministry said.

On Friday, Switzerland banned direct flights from South Africa and the surrounding region due to the detection of a new COVID-19 variant, while also imposing restrictions on travel from other countries including Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium.

Entry from those countries would only be possible for Swiss citizens or those with a residence permit in Switzerland or the broader Schengen area.

Now, following the detection of new Omicron cases, travellers from Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Egypt and Malawi will need to present a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for ten days as well, the Federal Office of Public Health said in a tweet.

It did not state whether travel from those countries would be limited to Swiss citizens and residents or not.

Two cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant have also been detected in the southern German state of Bavaria and in Itlay, both neighbours of Switzerland, but Switzerland has thus far not imposed travel restrictions on any countries with which it shares borders//CNA

Composite of Sydney and Melbourne. (Photos: AFP/William West & Steven Saphore) - 

All vaccinated travellers arriving in Australia’s New South Wales and Victoria states from an overseas country must self-isolate for at least 72 hours.

Both states announced the new measure on Saturday (Nov 27) night amid concerns over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant.

“From 12am on Nov 28, all fully vaccinated travellers arriving in New South Wales who have been in any overseas country must travel directly to their place of residence or accommodation, get a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (nose and throat swab) test and self-isolate for at least 72 hours," the New South Wales' Ministry of Health said on its website.

Victoria's government said on its website that from 11.59pm on Saturday, all new vaccinated arrivals and unvaccinated children under 12 who arrive in Victoria from overseas must quarantine at home for at least 72 hours.

Earlier on Saturday, Australia imposed new restrictions on people who have been to nine southern African countries.

The countries are South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique.

The government has banned non-citizens who have been in those countries from entering and will require supervised 14-day quarantines for Australian citizens and their dependents returning from these nine countries, said Health Minister Greg Hunt.

In November, Singapore extended the vaccinated travel lane scheme to Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also announced that Australia would reopen its borders to all vaccinated Singaporeans from Nov 21.

Three flights are due to fly from Changi Airport to Melbourne on Sunday - Singapore Airlines SQ237, SQ217 and Scoot TR18.

There are four scheduled flights from Singapore to Sydney - Singapore Airlines SQ231, SQ211, Scoot TR12 and Qantas Airways QF82.

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new measures will keep people safe.

“Authorities around the world are still investigating the risk posed by this new variant,” he added.

“As a result, the New South Wales government will continue to put community safety first by taking these precautionary but important steps until more information becomes available.”

The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 has raised concerns about another wave of the pandemic.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the variant as being "of concern", a label only given to four variants to date. It was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.

It could take weeks for scientists to fully understand the variant's mutations. Health authorities are seeking to determine if the Omicron variant is more transmissible or infectious than other variants and if vaccines are effective against it//CNA