Senegal, Tunisia log first cases as omicron spreads

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal and Tunisia have recorded their first cases of the omicron variant.

The Senegalese announcement of the first case was made by the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training, which is one of the laboratories approved by Senegal for covid-19 testing. Senegal became the third West African nation to detect the new variant.

The case was detected Friday in a 58-year-old man who arrived in Senegal on Nov. 22 by air from a country in the sub-region, the institute said Sunday. The man had been vaccinated in April with the AstraZeneca vaccine and in June with Pfizer.

According to the institute, the patient stayed in the capital, Dakar, in a hotel and took part in a demonstrations that brought together nearly 300 people. He has been isolated and as of Sunday did not present symptoms, it said.

The Institut Pasteur in Dakar on Sunday announced two more omicron cases hours later, saying they were in travelers leaving Dakar.

The cases include a 28-year-old man who tested positive on Nov. 23, as well as a 29-year-old woman staying in a hotel in Dakar who tested positive on Dec. 1.

The Institut Pasteur added on Twitter that “of the 22 sequences obtained for the period, the delta variant remains in the majority.”

Last week, President Macky Sall called upon people to respect prevention measures. The news comes as Senegal heads into its tourist season and as it is scheduled to host South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and hold the annual Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security today.

Health authorities in Tunisia said Sunday that a man traveling in from Turkey had tested positive.

A member of Tunisia’s covid- 19 task force, Dr. Hachemi Louzer, said the man was from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He tested positive Friday at the Tunis international airport after arriving from Istanbul and a subsequent screening of the sample at the Pasteur Institute for Public Health in the capital, Tunis, confirmed the omicron variant, Louzer said.

Several of his fellow travelers, including his brother, who tested negative for covid-19 have been quarantined, he said.

Health authorities have restricted travel to Tunisia after the spread of the omicron variant in Africa and Europe over the past week.

The overall epidemiological situation in Tunisia has improved in the past two months after the country received vaccine shipments from several countries, including the United States, health experts said.

More than 25,000 people have died of coronavirus in Tunisia.

GERMAN RESTRICTIONS

Meanwhile, Germany’s incoming transport minister is advising people against traveling over Christmas as the country tries to stem a wave of coronavirus infections.

Federal and state leaders on Thursday announced tough new restrictions that largely target unvaccinated people, preventing them from entering nonessential stores, restaurants, sports and cultural venues. In a longer-term move, parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate.

Volker Wissing, whose pro-business party has designated him as transport minister in the incoming government, told Sunday’s edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that “in the current situation, it seems more sensible to spend Christmas in a small group at home and not to plan big trips across the country.”

“Winter 2021 will be more dramatic than winter 2020,” he added.

The new government under center-left Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz is expected to take office on Wednesday, subject to the three parties that will form it signing off on their coalition deal and Scholz winning the backing of a parliamentary majority.

At least 68.9% of Germans are fully vaccinated against covid-19, short of the government’s aim of a minimum 75% vaccination rate. The shortfall has been blamed as a key factor in a surge of new virus cases in recent weeks.

Official figures suggest that the infection rate may now be stabilizing, but at too high a level. On Sunday, the national disease control center reported 42,055 new daily cases and a seven-day infection rate of 439.2 new cases per 100,000 residents. Another 94 deaths in 24 hours brought Germany’s confirmed total in the pandemic to 103,040.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel made a last direct appeal to Germans to get vaccinated on Saturday, saying that a resurgence in deaths is “so bitter because it is avoidable.”

PROTESTS IN BELGIUM

Belgian police used water cannon and tear gas Sunday to disperse some rowdy protesters in Brussels after most demonstrators marched peacefully to protest tightened covid-19 restrictions that aim to counter a surge of coronavirus infections.

Thousands came to reject the new measures announced Friday, the third week in a row that the government has tightened its rules as an avalanche of new cases strains the country’s health services, depriving people with other life-threatening diseases of treatment.

Shouting “Freedom! Freedom!” and carrying banners that said, “United for our freedom, rights and our children,” protesters marched to the European Union headquarters. Some also carried signs critical of vaccines and against making vaccine shots mandatory.

The main crowd in Sunday’s mostly peaceful march had already dispersed when about a 100 protesters ran into a riot police barricade cordoning off access to the European Commission. After a brief stand-off with police, protesters hurdled trash and other objects, including a bicycle, at police and set off firecrackers and flares. Police used water cannon and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

On Friday, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced that day care centers and primary schools will close for the holiday a week early, and children must now wear masks from the age of 6. Indoor events will only be allowed with a maximum of 200 people.

Previously, the government closed nightclubs, and ordered bars and restaurants to shut at 11 p.m. for three weeks. Speculation had been rife that closing times would be brought forward to 8 p.m. but the cabinet decided against it.

According to the latest coronavirus figures, the EU nation of 11 million appears to have reached a plateau.

On a weekly average, 17,862 new daily cases were reported in Belgium, a rise of 6% over the previous week. Hospital admissions rose 4%. More than 3,700 people are hospitalized with the virus, 821 of them in intensive care. More than 27,000 people with the virus have died in Belgium since the outbreak began last year.