World races to contain new COVID threat, the omicron variant

By RAF CASERT and CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The world is racing to contain a new coronavirus variant that is potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organization panel on Friday named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern. That’s the same category that includes the delta variant. Much of the world imposed immediate travel bans on visitors from southern Africa, where the new variant was discovered. The U.S. is putting its travel limits into effect Monday. The White House says agencies and airlines need the time to put the restrictions into effect.