BANGKOK (NNT) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is now recommending that people cancel some of their holiday plans as the Omicron coronavirus variant spreads rapidly across the world.

 

According to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, difficult decisions needed to be made as there is now evidence that the new variant is "spreading significantly faster" than the previous dominant Delta strain.

 

Many nations have already taken action to curb the Omicron spread, including reimposing travel restrictions.

 

The Omicron variant is now the dominant strain in the United States, accounting for 73% of new transmissions even as the White House says President Joe Biden has no plans to lock down the country.

 

Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US expert on infectious diseases, meanwhile warned that holiday travels would increase the spread of the new variant even among people who have been fully vaccinated.

 

US nationals are now advised against traveling to more than 80 countries listed as high-risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including nearly the entirety of Europe.

 

The Netherlands has so far imposed a strict lockdown over the holiday period, while France and Germany are implementing travel curbs and the UK said it was reserving the possibility of introducing new rules.

 

The WHO is meanwhile advising people not to assume that the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa in November, is less severe than previous variants based on early evidence.

 

It added that the pandemic could be over as early as next year if 70% of every nation on the planet gets vaccinated by the middle of 2022.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-12-22

 

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A bit late, as the exodus has already started ????

 

A lot of people already arrived in our old village today and more are arriving from Bangkok and Chonburi tomorrow.

The shock and horror of reacting to slow like last year will reap rewards once again.

Full on party time planned in Thailand should be interesting how it all plays out.  Maybe Thailand will get lucky.

Big shots in charge tell the little people to mask up, distance, and cancel holiday plans.

Then they are all seen maskless at crowded festive events.

They show by their actions what they really believe.

If covid was really the existential threat they claim it is, they would act in kind

Will they do the same for Chinese New Year? 

32 minutes ago, phukettrader said:

I don't understand what all the fuss is about regarding omicron. So far, it has proved to be extremely mild - basically no more than a bad cold, and according to official statistics in the UK, around 40% of people don't even know they have it until they are tested (using a test which is extremely inaccurate). Surely this is great news as it means that the "virus" is mutating into something that is basically harmless to most people, signalling the possible end to this pandemic. Funny how you never hear any of this on mainsteam media or from governments.

You need to read the MSM to see it. There's plenty of speculation that the early trends are showing this, it's all over the mainstream media. They are also sounding cautionary because that's what the experts are saying. The MSM ALWAYS reflects what the experts are saying.

7 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

Will they do the same for Chinese New Year? 

They did last year and the year before

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55791858

Seems more Grinchy than Who-like.

 

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0012/5134/4462/products/[email protected]?v=1543599054

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

According to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, difficult decisions needed to be made as there is now evidence that the new variant is "spreading significantly faster" than the previous dominant Delta strain.

Difficult decisions have to be made... After China bought his silence.

Coming from him that's almost laughable.

46 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

They did last year and the year before

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55791858

no mention of a WHO recommendation 

6 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

no mention of a WHO recommendation 

Well, ya know, Chinese travel during the holidays only happens in China. The salient point is that the Chinese were restricted from traveling contrary to your completely scurrilous and false China bashing comment. The WHO are reflecting expert advice. Kinda curious that you would imply that the Chinese need to be told to lock down by an international organisation when they were the firstest and mostest locked down nation. The failure to do so cost the UK and the US (among others) a huge number of deaths.

13 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

The shock and horror of reacting to slow like last year will reap rewards once again.

He's advising people not to travel to prevent/slow down the spread. It's actually good advice.

 

Perhaps if people followed his advice the pace of spread can be slowed and health services won't be overwhelmed. Instead of (for example) flying to the Omicron epicentre of the world (the US) and then using a grandfathered rule to return to Thailand without quarantining.

15 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Full on party time planned in Thailand should be interesting how it all plays out.  Maybe Thailand will get lucky.

More likely they won't do any testing, and claim they got Brilliant.

Show me the list of some of the 8,000+ WHO bureaucrats who are hunkering down and isolated in their basement for the holiday season and I may consider following their advice.

 

Yeah, Nah.......thought so.

Phuket Gov didn't get the memo yet, some big concert will be going on in our small tamboon on the beach, I'll be staying well away for a few days, 

You can make lots of anagrams using Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

 

One of them is youareafarkincorruptidiotanddeservetobehungforyourcrimesagainsthumanity.

 

Side note: it's devilishly difficult to type a string of words and not use the space bar.  Whowouldathunkthat.

3 hours ago, phukettrader said:

I don't understand what all the fuss is about regarding omicron. So far, it has proved to be extremely mild - basically no more than a bad cold, and according to official statistics in the UK, around 40% of people don't even know they have it until they are tested (using a test which is extremely inaccurate). Surely this is great news as it means that the "virus" is mutating into something that is basically harmless to most people, signalling the possible end to this pandemic. Funny how you never hear any of this on mainsteam media or from governments.

Now just the 'Flu' not the 'Whu Flu'... 5555????????????????

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Well, ya know, Chinese travel during the holidays only happens in China. The salient point is that the Chinese were restricted from traveling contrary to your completely scurrilous and false China bashing comment. The WHO are reflecting expert advice. Kinda curious that you would imply that the Chinese need to be told to lock down by an international organisation when they were the firstest and mostest locked down nation. The failure to do so cost the UK and the US (among others) a huge number of deaths.

I was bashing WHO not China

 

WHO is recommending that people cancel their Christmas holiday plans

 

They wouldn’t dare advise the Chinese what to do 

9 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

I was bashing WHO not China

 

WHO is recommending that people cancel their Christmas holiday plans

 

They wouldn’t dare advise the Chinese what to do 

There is no reason for them to do so. You are pushing a conspiracy theory out of thin air and just bashing China without basis. Why not criticise the WHO for what they did, not what they didn't do. Your political agenda is clear for everyone to see. You are anti covid restrictions and anti globalist. You attack based on these biases not on facts or expert evidence. It's clear that that global cooperation is required to solve global problems but the twin crises of climate change and covid have got in the way of nationalists.

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

He's advising people not to travel to prevent/slow down the spread. It's actually good advice.

 

Perhaps if people followed his advice the pace of spread can be slowed and health services won't be overwhelmed. Instead of (for example) flying to the Omicron epicentre of the world (the US) and then using a grandfathered rule to return to Thailand without quarantining.

Stopping life as we know it everytime a new variant is discovered is untenable. The WHO  has lost credibility for a wide number of reasons

10 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

There is no reason for them to do so. You are pushing a conspiracy theory out of thin air and just bashing China without basis. Why not criticise the WHO for what they did, not what they didn't do. Your political agenda is clear for everyone to see. You are anti covid restrictions and anti globalist. You attack based on these biases not on facts or expert evidence. It's clear that that global cooperation is required to solve global problems but the twin crises of climate change and covid have got in the way of nationalists.

Scottish nationalists?

51 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Phuket Gov didn't get the memo yet, some big concert will be going on in our small tamboon on the beach, I'll be staying well away for a few days, 

It's an outdoor event so little chanice of transmission according to research done over the last year

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

He's advising people not to travel to prevent/slow down the spread. It's actually good advice.

 

Perhaps if people followed his advice the pace of spread can be slowed and health services won't be overwhelmed. Instead of (for example) flying to the Omicron epicentre of the world (the US) and then using a grandfathered rule to return to Thailand without quarantining.

The health services are supposed to protect us and they have had over a year to prepare whilst excluding and ignoring a whole raft of other illnesses.

1 minute ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It's an outdoor event so little chanice of transmission according to research done over the last year

All change, delta last year, Omicron incoming.

23 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

There is no reason for them to do so. You are pushing a conspiracy theory out of thin air and just bashing China without basis. Why not criticise the WHO for what they did, not what they didn't do. Your political agenda is clear for everyone to see. You are anti covid restrictions and anti globalist. You attack based on these biases not on facts or expert evidence. It's clear that that global cooperation is required to solve global problems but the twin crises of climate change and covid have got in the way of nationalists.

You spend a lot time replying (angrily) to my very brief posts

 

Take a chill pill 

4 hours ago, phukettrader said:

I don't understand what all the fuss is about regarding omicron. So far, it has proved to be extremely mild - basically no more than a bad cold, and according to official statistics in the UK, around 40% of people don't even know they have it until they are tested (using a test which is extremely inaccurate). Surely this is great news as it means that the "virus" is mutating into something that is basically harmless to most people, signalling the possible end to this pandemic. Funny how you never hear any of this on mainsteam media or from governments.

Simply because it is of financial benefit for governments and media, not to mention the medical profession, insurance companies, certain hotels etc.

2 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Stopping life as we know it everytime a new variant is discovered is untenable. The WHO  has lost credibility for a wide number of reasons

I totally agree.

 

But there is a big difference between stopping life as we know it and recommending (not mandating) that we reduce unnecessary international travel for a few weeks. If a few minor inconveniences now can prevent another 6 months of lockdowns later then I think that's a reasonable trade off.

 

Because we all know that if daily cases quickly rise back into 5 figures (as is quite possible with Omicron) then the government will start shutting everything down again and I really don't want to go back to that. If people voluntarily take reasonable precautions now and we continue the vaccine drive then hopefully we can continue to ease back into normality without the normal 1 step forwards 2 steps back cycle.

6 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Simply because it is of financial benefit for governments and media, not to mention the medical profession, insurance companies, certain hotels etc.

and everybody else on the planet. What's your point? The media should not make money? The drug companies could not make (not would not) make vaccines if they were not profitable. I hope they become insanely rich so they can make more vaccines faster when the virus inevitably mutates because the slow learners won't vaccinate.

11 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

The health services are supposed to protect us and they have had over a year to prepare whilst excluding and ignoring a whole raft of other illnesses.

Again, I agree.

 

Much like the airbags in my car are supposed to protect me. That doesn't mean I drive into a brick wall at 100mph. Omicron is coming for sure, but I'd much rather it came slowly and we don't slip back into lockdown, rather than we all pretend Covid doesn't exist and remove all the shackles overnight, the numbers skyrocket and the government shuts everything again. I just want to keep moving in the right direction and if a few minor inconveniences allow that to happen I will reluctantly accept that.