Europe battens down as variant races away

Urgency for region's curbs put in stark relief by Omicron's spread to 89 nations

VIENNA－Omicron has been detected in 89 countries, the World Health Organization said on Saturday, driving home the threat posed by the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus as nations across Europe move to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of infections.

COVID-19 cases involving the variant are doubling every 1½ to 3 days in places with community transmission, the WHO said.

Omicron's "substantial growth advantage" over the Delta variant means it is likely to soon overtake Delta as the dominant form of the virus in countries in which the new variant is spreading locally, the UN health agency said.

As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks. Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8 pm curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan underscored the official concern about the climbing caseloads and their potential to overwhelm the healthcare system by declaring a major incident on Saturday. The move allows councils in Britain's capital to coordinate work more closely with emergency services.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin captured the sense of the continent in an address to the nation, saying the restrictions were needed to protect lives and livelihoods from the resurgent virus.

"None of this is easy," Martin said on Friday night. "We are all exhausted with COVID and the restrictions it requires," he said. "The twists and turns, the disappointments and the frustrations take a heavy toll on everyone. But it is the reality that we are dealing with."

The Netherlands on Saturday announced a Christmas lockdown in which all nonessential shops, cultural and entertainment venues will shut until Jan 14, while schools will close until at least Jan 9.

In the United Kingdom, where confirmed daily cases soared to record numbers last week, the government has reimposed a requirement for masks to be worn indoors and ordered people to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test when going to nightclubs and large events.

Anger on streets

But the moves are causing anger. Critics of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's latest coronavirus restrictions flooded Oxford Street, a popular London shopping area, on Saturday. The maskless protesters blew whistles, yelled "Freedom!" and told passersby to remove their face coverings.

Hundreds of people blocked traffic as they marched with signs bearing slogans such as "Vaccine passports kill our freedoms" and "Don't comply". Other signs had the faces of Johnson or UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid saying "Give them the boot".

Britain and other countries are also accelerating the pace of booster shots after early data showed that two doses of vaccine were less effective against Omicron. Shopping centers, cathedrals and soccer stadiums in Britain have been converted into mass vaccination centers.

The WHO said that Omicron is spreading rapidly even in countries with high vaccination rates or where a significant proportion of the population has recovered from COVID-19.

It remains unclear if the rapid growth in Omicron infections is because the variant evades existing immunity, is inherently more transmissible than previous variants, or a combination of both, the WHO said.

In France, the government announced that it will start giving COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 5 to 11 from Wednesday. Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Friday that with Omicron spreading like "lightning", the government proposed requiring proof of vaccination for those entering restaurants, cafes and other public establishments. The pending measure requires parliamentary approval.

Demonstrations were planned in Paris to oppose the vaccine pass proposal and present government restrictions.

Agencies via Xinhua