Marius Zaharia and Renju José

HONG KONG/SYDNEY – Hong Kong imposed a new ban on non-residents coming from many countries to stop a spread of Omicron. Meanwhile, global health authorities are racing to contain a potential Omicron outbreak. Australia’s cabinet is reviewing Tuesday’s containment actions after five people tested positive.

Singapore’s Health Ministry said that two people from Johannesburg tested positive for the virus in Sydney. They had also transited through Changi.

Omicron was first detected in Southern Africa. The World Health Organization has stated that Omicron poses a very high risk for infection surges. This alarming report has been echoed around the world, as border closures cast a shadow on an emerging economic recovery following a 2-year-old pandemic.

Hong Kong was the first to increase travel restrictions. According to a Monday evening statement by the city, non-residents from Angola (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zambia will not be permitted entry as of Nov. 30, according to officials.

According to the statement, “the strictest quarantine requirements will also apply on these inbound travellers,”

It was also stated that non-residents, who had been to Austria and Belgium, Canada or the Czech Republic in the last 21 days, will not be permitted to enter the city starting Dec. 2.

This global financial center, one of the few places on the planet that has a zero COVID strategy, previously banned foreigners from South Africa Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Officials in Australia said that the five Omicron-infected travellers are all immunized and are now quarantined. They are either asymptomatic, or they have very mild symptoms.

Canberra delayed Monday’s reopening the country’s borders to skilled migrants and international students, 36 hours after they were scheduled to return.

Greg Hunt, Federal Health Minister in Canberra stated that while (Omicron is) an emerging variant of the disease, it was manageable.

After a Friday rout that saw $2 trillion of stock market value wiped out, there are now growing hopes Omicron is going to be milder than people fear. [MKTS/GLOB][FRX]

The comments of President Joe Biden, that the United States wouldn’t reinstate lockdowns, provided comfort to traders.

Biden declared that this variant was a reason for concern but not for panic in remarks to the White House

“We are going to fight this new variant!”