Friday, May 20, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Medical Finance
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • Insights From Industry
  • Thought Leaders
  • Coronavirus
  • Whitepapers
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • Insights From Industry
  • Thought Leaders
  • Coronavirus
  • Whitepapers
No Result
View All Result
Medical Finance
No Result
View All Result
Home Coronavirus

Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant-associated travel restrictions worldwide

by Medical Finance
in Coronavirus
Study: Fifteen Days in December: Capture and Analysis of Omicron-Related Travel Restrictions. Image Credit: Bakhtiar Zein / Shutterstock.com
9
SHARES
99
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers evaluate the travel restrictions placed by nations worldwide following the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant.

Study: Fifteen Days in December: Capture and Analysis of Omicron-Related Travel Restrictions. Image Credit: Bakhtiar Zein / Shutterstock.com

Study: Fifteen Days in December: Capture and Analysis of Omicron-Related Travel Restrictions. Image Credit: Bakhtiar Zein / Shutterstock.com

Background

After the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in South Africa in November 2021, despite the risk-based approach advised by the World Health Organization (WHO), several nations around the world imposed stringent travel restriction policies to minimize the importation of Omicron into their country. These policies primarily targeted South African countries, even after Omicron community transmission was reported in other parts of the world.

About the study

In the present study, the authors analyzed national-level travel restrictions imposed globally during the first three weeks following the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

The researchers differentiated between the travel restriction policies by those targeting travelers from particular nations and broad screening techniques. The researchers also evaluated differences in regional-level approaches for mitigating Omicron transmission.

Study findings

The data capturing process of Omicron-related travel restriction policies revealed that a total of 221 Omicron-associated travel policies were implemented across the world between November 24, 2021, and December 15, 2021, following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

During the first three weeks following the identification of the Omicron variant, the entry bans or flight restrictions that were implemented by several nations primarily targeted seven countries from Southern Africa. These countries included Eswatini, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, followed by additional bans on travelers from Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Egypt, and Nigeria.

Although the entry bans led to the repatriation of residents and citizens to their own countries, airport transit restrictions for travelers from the targeted countries barred their return.

The entry bans on travelers from Egypt and Nigeria were based on the detection of Omicron-positive cases among those who traveled from these countries. Hence, in most cases, the travel restrictions were not based on Omicron’s epidemiological data in these countries and were instead tied to Omicron positivity among those who traveled recently from these countries.

The travel restrictions enacted during the later periods of the Omicron wave included enhanced screening at the borders through universal entry requirements. These screening approaches required travelers to provide recent SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results and mandatory quarantine for travelers.

Most countries that placed flight suspensions or entry bans during the initial weeks of Omicron emergence continued those measures and incorporated layers of testing and quarantining during the later periods. By contrast, four countries including the United Kingdom, Israel, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka replaced travel bans with nuanced SARS-CoV-2 screening protocols.

Map illustrating the number of Omicron-related travel restrictions that imposed specific measures against each country, 24 November – 15 December 2021. Countries in which confirmed Omicron cases had been reported as of 15 December are outlined in yellow.

Map illustrating the number of Omicron-related travel restrictions that imposed specific measures against each country, 24 November – 15 December 2021. Countries in which confirmed Omicron cases had been reported as of 15 December are outlined in yellow.

Most travel restriction policy documentation did not mention the anticipated duration or criteria for the relaxation of these restrictions. In fact, only 15% of the travel included an expected end date.

Only African countries had more than 50% of the Omicron response policies based on universal entry requirements. For entry policies, these nations relied on vaccination requirements, despite their own lower coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates.

On November 26, 2021, European countries placed a temporary travel ban on travelers from seven Southern African countries into the European Union (EU). Further, the Eastern Mediterranean and European countries implemented flight suspensions mainly from the Gulf nations.

Following an initial burst of policies targeted to specific countries over time, measures became slightly more focused on enhancing screening measures such as testing for all travelers – though initial entry bans were rarely rescinded.

Following an initial burst of policies targeted to specific countries over time, measures became slightly more focused on enhancing screening measures such as testing for all travelers – though initial entry bans were rarely rescinded.

Due to the shortage of direct travel routes, the American and South-East Asian countries avoided airline suspensions, instead of relying on screening measures and entry restrictions implemented by the intermediaries. The Western Pacific region, including Australia, did not permit the repatriation of Australian citizens from Southern Africa until December 15, 2021.

Despite the implementation of similar COVID-19 screening methods across several countries, variations were seen in quarantining requirements. These ranged from unsupervised quarantining at any place to stringent monitoring at specified hotels, quarantining costs borne by travelers including prior purchasing of quarantine packages, COVID-19 testing on specified days of quarantine, and criteria to end quarantine.  

Variations in COVID-19 testing requirements were also observed among different countries. Out of the 81 Omicron response policies that mentioned testing, PCR tests were required in 51, whereas nine allowed rapid antigen or PCR tests.

The frequently mandated pre-travel COVID-19 test period was 72 hours in most countries and varied from 24-120 hours across countries. Several African countries enforced the requirement of COVID-negative PCR test before leaving the country, regardless of the destination, to pre-empt African countries-associated travel restrictions in other nations.

Omicron-associated travel restrictions posed many logistical and practical difficulties in nations worldwide. These included delays in the repatriation of citizens to their own countries and in the shipment of reagents to researchers in South Africa, thereby affecting the early understanding of the Omicron in the high seroprevalence setting.

Additional difficulties were encountered in obtaining PCR results 24-48 hours before boarding the flights. Additional challenges included financial implications of quarantining and testing, as well as differences in the criteria of fully vaccinated status across different nations.

Moreover, identifying and tracing Omicron response travel policies was difficult due to differences in the documentation of these guidelines among various countries and language barriers. Nations with national airline websites, air carriers, and social media handle provided up-to-date Omicron-related travel restriction policies rather than official government portals.

Conclusions

The current study highlights the importance of aligned response approaches worldwide and understanding transmission epidemiology for mitigating the future emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants or other viruses.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Medical Finance

Medical Finance

Related Posts

(A) Schematic of the physical changes that take place when an airborne aqueous droplet equilibrates to the surrounding relative humidity. On the left (blue box) the particle is an aqueous homogenous sphere. As the particle equilibrates to a sub-saturated RH, low-solubility solutes can precipitate inclusions within the droplet (yellow box). At a sufficiently low RH, the dominant solute (NaCl) can crystallize causing the particle to effloresce (black box). (B) Schematic of the CELEBS technique. Virus-containing particles are levitated under controlled conditions and then deposited into media which is then plated onto a cell culture. By enumerating the cytopathic effect from that deposition, the amount of virus present can be quantified. (C) Schematic of the CK-EDB technique. Particles generated by the same droplet dispensers used in CELEBS are levitated under controlled conditions in the path of a laser. The physical changes that take place in that particle are studied through analysis of the light scattered by that particle.

Airborne decay of SARS-CoV-2 occurs within minutes

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

Understanding the factors that influence the airborne survival of viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in...

Study: Persistence of endogenous SARS-CoV-2 and pepper mild mottle virus RNA in wastewater settled solids. Image Credit: NIAID

SARS-CoV-2 and pepper mild mottle virus RNA highly persistent in wastewater solids

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

A new study from the United States (US) investigates the persistence (lifetime) of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) under different ambient...

Study: Effectiveness of mRNA-1273 against SARS-CoV-2 omicron and delta variants. Image Credit: Studio Romantic/Shutterstock

Evaluating effectiveness of the COVID-19 mRNA-1273 vaccine against Omicron and Delta variants

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

In a study recently published on the medRxiv* pre-print server, a team of researchers investigated the effectiveness of one to...

Study: Cross-reactive memory T cells associate with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in COVID-19 contacts. Image Credit: Pormezz / Shutterstock

A common cold may boost the immune system against COVID-19

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

A recent groundbreaking research paper published in the journal Nature Communications reveals the association of circulating SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells at...

Study: Autoantibodies in COVID-19 correlate with anti-viral humoral responses and distinct immune signatures. Image Credit: SciePro / Shutterstock.com

Assessing how autoantibodies in COVID-19 correlate with anti-viral humoral responses

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

In a recent study published on the medRxiv* preprint server, a team of researchers screened several systemic autoantibodies to assess...

Study: Heterologous immunization with inactivated vaccine followed by mRNA booster elicits strong humoral and cellular immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Image Credit: Teeradej/Shutterstock

Study finds heterologous vaccine booster evokes robust immunity to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

by Medical Finance
May 20, 2022
0

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in the last month of 2019 has undergone several...

Next Post
New tool could help detect geographical hotspots for mental health problems caused by COVID

Blood groups play a key role in whether people develop severe COVID-19, study suggests

Macrophages in the arteries can “sniff” out their surroundings and cause inflammation

Lipidomic profiling may provide early prediction of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Login
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Support

  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms And Conditions

Categories

  • Coronavirus
  • Insights From Industry
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • News
  • Thought Leaders
  • Whitepapers

More News

  • Study: Trends in non-COVID-19 hospitalizations prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic period, United States, 2017 – 2021. Image Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
    Exploring changes in non-COVID-19 hospitalization rates before and during COVID-19
  • Woman scratching her bottom because having Candidiasis in the vagina Health car KatKrittimook M1 daa924a5692344f8ba1980a73037b421 620x480
    Whole-genome sequencing project sheds new light on the diversity of Candida glabrata
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms And Conditions

© 2022 Medical Finance - Latest Financial and Business News

No Result
View All Result
  • Interviews
  • Mediknowledge
  • News
  • Insights From Industry
  • Coronavirus
  • Thought Leaders
  • Whitepapers
wpDiscuz
0
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply