Vice Pres. Kamala Harris says she has been briefed on the omicron variant and when asked if there will be any additional travel restrictions, she said they will be 'taking it one step at a time.'
Two cases of the new omicron COVID-19 variant have been confirmed in Germany on Saturday.
Both travelers had returned to Bavaria on Wednesday after an extended stay in South Africa. They had been in domestic isolation since Nov. 25 after testing positive for PCR. In the coming week, an additional whole genome sequencing should be carried out, said Munich virologist Oliver Keppler. However, according to Keppler, the PCR procedure carried out today"allows a clear differentiation from other SARS-CoV-2 variants." Together with the travel history, the detection of omicron can be considered"doubtless," he said.
Moreover, all persons entering southern Africa from areas classified by the Robert Koch Institute as virus-variant areas must be quarantined for 14 days -- this also applies regardless of vaccination status.
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