Carolyn Cohn, William James

LONDON (Reuters – Britain has refused to allow gatherings to be restricted on Monday. It came a day following a Dutch fourth lockdown prompted in part by Omicron, a fast-growing variant of coronavirus.

Omicron infections are rapidly spreading across Europe and the United States. They double in London every other day and have a devastating impact on financial markets, which worry about the effects on the global economy recovery.

This variant was detected for the first times in Hong Kong, southern Africa, and Hong Kong last month. It has since been identified in at least 90 countries. However, it is unknown how serious the illness can be.

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte ordered a closure on Saturday. This included all essential shops, restaurants, hairdressers and gyms as well as public spaces such as museums, bars, clubs, etc., from Sunday to at least January 14.

Twelve deaths from the Omicron virus of coronavirus in Britain, Dominic Raab (Deputy Prime Minister) said Monday. However, Raab refused to rule any social tightening before Christmas.

Times Radio said that “I can’t guarantee anything.” In assessing the situation, we depend heavily on the actual data being received and it will take more time to assess the crucial issue of Omicron’s severity.

Sajid Javid, the health minister, said that the government is closely monitoring the data. Boris Johnson’s authority is being challenged by allegations that he or his staff violated lockdown rules. Any attempt to restrict Christmas celebrations would be a political disaster.

In a Sunday statement, the German scientific advisory panel stated that further restriction of contact was needed. Data so far has shown that boosters are not enough to stop the spread.

Hendrik Wüest, the state premier in North Rhine-Westphalia said that contact restrictions could not be imposed on those who are fully vaccinated.

“We need to be very careful not to rule anything out,” he said on Monday to broadcaster ARD.

Ireland has ordered all bars and restaurants in the country to shut down at 8 PM on Friday. It also reduced public event capacity. According to newspapers, Italy also considers new ways to prevent an increase in infection rates.

TWO-WEEK LOWS

Stocks dropped and oil prices fell more than 3 percent on Monday.

S&P and Nasdaq futures fell 1.3%, pointing to a lower Wall Street open, after U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (a moderate Democrat, who was key in President Joe Biden’s efforts to pass a massive domestic investment bill) said that he wouldn’t support the package.

Stocks in Europe and the UK fell 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively, during two weeks.

“Omicron… continues to be one of the most important issues for the markets at the moment and has substantially clouded our outlook going into the year-end.” Deutsche Bank (DE:) analysts said in a note, adding that Manchin’s stance “marks a significant blow for President Biden’s economic agenda”.

Israel included the United States in its “no flying” list due to concerns about the Omicron variant. Anthony Fauci from the U.S. was an expert in infectious disease and advised Americans to receive booster shots. He said Omicron was “raging across the globe” when he spoke out about it.

According to Reuters, the number of COVID-related cases in the United States has increased by 50% since the beginning of the month.

New York recorded its third consecutive day with record numbers, more than half of which were in New York. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraged the nation to “go on war footing” and fight Omicron with vaccines.

Thailand may reinstate mandatory quarantine for foreign tourists after the Health Ministry reported that the first known case of coronavirus-related local transmission occurred in Thailand.

Australia, for its part, is working to relax the rules despite a projected surge in infections. It hopes that immunizations will keep people out hospital.

Since December 2019, when the first coronavirus cases in China were discovered, more than 274.24 millions people worldwide have been infected with the virus. Since December 2019, more than 56.5 million people have been infected.

Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/