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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

The only KLM plane to arrive in Amsterdam from Johannesbourg on Saturday (Photo: ANP/AFP/Sem van der Wal) - 

Relieved passengers on a flight from South Africa streamed into Amsterdam's Schiphol airport Saturday (Nov 27), in stark contrast to the previous day when fears about a new COVID-19 variant sparked chaos.

Smiling relatives waiting with balloons and flowers greeted travellers from KLM's only flight from Johannesburg, who reached the Netherlands despite a growing international shutdown to curb the new omicron strain.

The mood was very different the previous day, when passengers aboard two flights spent hours mired at Schiphol while tests revealed that 61 out of the 600 passengers had coronavirus, with some possibly having the new Omicron strain which has governments worldwide worried.

"We were scared of having to go back into quarantine," said Mariam van der Veen, an air hostess who was on holiday in South Africa with her husband Alexander.

"The funny thing is ... nobody said anything to us," a visibly relieved Van der Veen, 58, told AFP.

Her husband added: "We heard there was a new variant and maybe it would be impossible to go back after the weekend. So we decided not to wait (in South Africa) under these circumstances and booked a flight home."

In all 161 people made it back Saturday aboard the sole KLM flight from Johannesburg, blending seamlessly with other arrivals from Istanbul and Atlanta as they plucked luggage from the conveyor belts.

At least 107 other passengers were stopped from boarding as they did not comply with new Dutch government rules hastily announced on Friday.

These bar entry to all passengers from southern African countries except for Dutch and EU residents who can show a negative Covid test taken within 24 hours of boarding the plane.

"Each person is dealing with an individual situation. We cannot say when these people will be able to return," KLM spokesman Remco Rous told AFP.

Since the emergence of the new strain, one country after another has banned flights from southern Africa in what New York Times global health reporter Stephanie Nolen - who was on one of the flights to Schiphol -- termed "variant panic."

On Friday passengers arriving at Schiphol had to endure hours of waiting - first on the plane and then in a cramped arrival hall "were people were breathing on each other" and many people failed to wear face masks, Nolen tweeted.

Dutch health authorities said on Saturday that some of the 61 who tested Covid positive and are now in hotel quarantine "probably" had the new variant.

"This was an extraordinary situation, unique, because the measures changed while people were on the plane," said Stefan Donker, spokesman for Schiphol.

"Coronavirus is something unexpected and it proves to be always more unexpected," he told AFP.

While passengers who missed connecting flights because of Friday evening's hold-up were fuming, those arriving on Saturday had a much smoother transit -- and those whose destination was the Netherlands were hugely relieved//CNA