(Reuters) – Companies were cautious Monday regarding the potential effects of the Omicron virus. Airlines said they are not cancelling flights yet, while automakers stated they continue to monitor any possible impact on the manufacturing sector.

Monday’s warning by the World Health Organization was that Omicron, a variant of coronavirus, poses an extremely high global risk of sudden surges. Investors who were speculative wiped off $2 trillion in global stock markets on Friday. However, the market was calmer Monday.

The bans were swiftly placed on all travel to southern Africa from where it was discovered. Japan and Israel announced bans for all foreign visitors. Nevertheless, some airlines stated that they are not altering their flight schedules.

Michael O’Leary is the Chief Executive of Ryanair. He believes there was no reason to cancel any flights. However, he was concerned that some countries might close down air travel. Lufthansa is Germany’s most famous airline. It said that its flights are still fully booked.

U.S. President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet Monday with top executives from major retailers and other businesses to talk about how they can move goods to shelves in light of Omicron’s holiday shopping season.

Gina Raimondo (Commerce Secretary) said that Omicron’s impact on supply chains worldwide was uncertain.

Fears of an emerging variant have been raised about the possibility of new restrictions being imposed on industries.

Auto plants in America were shut down for two months in 2013. Even though automakers started operations again, production was slowed by semiconductor chip shortages. Omicron’s effects on the auto industry were not anticipated by manufacturers.

Lloryn Love-Carter, Nissan’s U.S. spokesperson said that “this is new.” While we are still monitoring the situation, there is still a number of COVID protocols.

Toyota Motor (NYSE 🙂 Corp stated that the U.S. management of Motor will meet on Tuesday in order to talk about the Omicron variant, and whether or not the Japanese automaker should take further steps.

Scott Vazin from Toyota America stated that they’re currently in the “gathering data” mode. “Since the majority of our workers are located in plants, COVID protocols, such as social ditancing, screenings for health, and masking up, have not been stopped,” Scott Vazin, Toyota’s U.S. spokesperson, said. 

Volkswagen (DE:), also stated that it is continuing to apply and adhere strict safety protocols for its employees at U.S. plants.