Covid live news: Omicron variant detected in Canada as Fauci warns two weeks needed to study new strain

Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida has said his country will consider further tightening its borders as the Omicron variant spreads around the world, Reuters reports.

“We are (taking measures) with a strong sense of crisis,” Kishida told reporters on Monday, noting that Japan closed its borders to foreigners travelling from nine countries including South Africa as of Sunday.

“As we’re seeing a spread around the world, we continue to consider further measures to tighten border controls and will announce a decision at the appropriate time.”

If you want to know more about the new Omicron variant and the vaccine, check out this explainer. Will Omicron be more resistant to vaccines? How much protection can vaccines offer? Will third doses help? Can we modify vaccines? What if you’ve already been infected with another strain of Covid? Will antiviral drugs work against Omicron? Guardian correspondent Linda Geddes has some answers.

The Australian state of New South Wales is investigating a possible third case of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 as the premier, Dominic Perrottet, has warned against “knee-jerk” reactions to the strain.

The NSW health department announced on Sunday that two people who had recently returned from southern Africa had tested positive for the new variant in Sydney.

They include South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi and the Seychelles.

But on Monday Perrottet said there had “possibly” been a third case, which the state’s health department was investigating.

Guardian Australia correspondent Michael McGowan has more:

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.

Canada’s health minister says the country’s first two cases of Omicron have been found in Ontario after two individuals who had recently travelled from Nigeria tested positive. They are the first cases to be detected in North America. Canada has banned travellers who have visited southern Africa countries in the past two weeks in a ban which came into effect on Friday.

The top US infectious disease official, Dr Anthony Fauci, has told president Joe Biden it will take about two weeks to have definitive information on the new variant and has warned the US has “the potential to go into a fifth wave” of coronavirus infections.

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said Omicron was a “wake-up call” for global vaccine inequality. He has opposed travel bans announced on southern African countries in recent days, amid fears of the economic toll. The World Health Organization has echoed Ramaphosa’s concern and called for borders to remain open, citing uncertainty over the transmissibility, severity and vaccine disruption from Omicron.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments as the new Omicron variant continues to cause panic around the world.

• Authorities in the Netherlands detected at least 13 cases of the Omicron variant from recent flights into Amsterdam from South Africa.
• Botswana, which borders South Africa, said it has recorded a total 19 Omicron cases.
• The UK said it has detected three total Omicron infections in Nottingham, Essex and the London borough of Westminster, with targeted PCR testing being stepped up.
• European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned of global “race against time” against Omicron, urging people to practice social distancing and get vaccinated so scientists have time to understand the new variant’s transmissibility and severity.
• The health ministers of the G7 will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the Omicron variant.
• The 194 member states of the World Health Organization agreed to launch pandemic treaty negotiations as the world prepares to learn the lessons of Covid for the next pandemic.
• The UK reported 37,681 new Covid cases and 51 deaths, with the government vaccine watchdog suggesting the vaccine booster drive could be accelerated as soon as Monday to suppress cases.
• Secondary school pupils and teachers in England will wear once again face coverings in communal areas.
• Israel suspended all flights into the country on Sunday at 10pm GMT after detecting its first Omicron infection on Friday, just four weeks after it fully opened its skies to vaccinated travellers.
• Morocco said it will stop all incoming flights for two weeks starting Monday to prevent spread of the new strain.