It’s certainly spreading …
1 in Germany
And 61 in the Netherlands now.
Apparently it’s being found in countries that have had NO
recent contact with southern Africa ??
Maybe it mutates to Omicron as a natural sequence after a
certain number of mutations ??
Donkeyman! 
Why does South Africa feel like its being punished for telling about this new mutation? They think they should be applauded…! I find that attitude quite annoying actually - any country who is at risk of passing on virus’s needs to be curtailed. This is safe guarding, not a punishment! Jeez 
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I do not think the “virus” under any name is going away got to stay sensible and protect yourself.
Seems all shops and public transport Masks mandatory again but leisure venues exempt.
IMO the masks should never have been lifted it was too soon .
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I was having a look at the graphs on the John Hopkins Uni site and the only promising sight is that deaths are way down but if you extrapolate the figures it looks like at least another year of uncertainly. The danger is that if the virus gets out of hand the deaths will rocket as the health services are overwhelmed. Not to mention the other illnesses not being treated because of the strain Covid puts on the medical system.
These graphs cover the period since the start of the pandemic. Note the scales on the left they are different for each situation but the trends are clear.
The global situation:
Australia:
UK:
Germany:
Only the vaccination graph looks good
Covid: Dozens test positive on SA-Netherlands flights
Sixty-one people who arrived in Amsterdam on two flights from South Africa have tested positive for Covid-19, Dutch officials say.
They have been placed in isolation at a hotel near Schiphol airport.
They were among some 600 passengers held for several hours after arrival while they were tested for the virus.
Dutch health authorities said Omicron, labelled on Friday as a variant of concern, was “probably found in a number of people” who tested positive.
It continues … 
Covid: Israel to impose travel ban for foreigners over new variant
The ban is expected to come into effect at midnight on Sunday, following full cabinet approval.
Israel has so far confirmed one case of the potentially more infectious Omicron strain first detected in South Africa.
Many countries have since banned travel to South Africa and its neighbours.
The Israeli coronavirus cabinet agreed a series of new restrictions at a crisis meeting late on Saturday and are subject to final approval by the larger cabinet.
In addition to the entry ban for non-Israelis, a three-day mandatory quarantine would be required for all vaccinated Israeli nationals, and a seven-day quarantine for those who have not been vaccinated.
The cabinet also authorised surveillance of confirmed coronavirus patients by the Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.
The Shin Bet’s headquarters are located in Ramat Aviv, a northern neighborhood in Tel Aviv, north of Park Hayarkon.
Shabak’s duties are safeguarding state security, exposing terrorist rings, interrogating terror suspects, providing intelligence for counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, counter-espionage, personal protection of senior public officials, securing important infrastructure and government buildings, and safeguarding Israeli airlines and overseas embassies.
The Israelis are not messing … 
If they are naming the viruses after Greek.
Omega means “a grand closure, like the conclusion of a large-scale event”
Does that sound good or bad?
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Oh No! we’re in the poo…
Devastating news I don’t think I will be going to Australia any time soon .
I know it’s early days and I know we should exercise caution.
However, to date, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that anyone has actually died from this strain.
I think it is merely because they know so little about it that they are being cautious. It appears to have supplanted Delta in South Africa which they think might indicate that it is more infectious than Delta but the two confirmed cases that arrived in Sydney were asymptomatic according to this evenings news.
I would imagine that a lot of scientific dandruff is being shed at this moment all over the world as they try to determine what this strain actually means to us
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And what about these illegal immigrants bringing the virus to the UK, I don’t see the government taking any action to stop them
You dont happen to have The Artful Todger staying with you by any chance 
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I agree completely. I think governments were getting hassled by businesses to open up otherwise the economy would collapse.
Over here our mask mandate never changed. Everyone still wears a mask. What our government did was extremely foolish. We paid all the people who couldn’t work $2,000 a month to stay at home. Many people were getting paid more than they would have if they weren’t working and many people didn’t work to begin with. We can’t afford to be doing this.
Together these two spell disaster.
I personally don’t think our world will ever be the same. I think these mutating viruses is our new norm. Does this mean we need vaccinations for every single mutation? If so, what does this do to our natural immune system?
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I guess I’m being ignored as usual.
It’s lunchtime here Bratti, I expect most are busy in the kitchen. 
There has been a lot of discussion and debate as to just how effective most face masks actually are.
I tend to view them as a sign of common courtesy and a reminder that we ought to be taking the threat of ailment seriously, and do things to mitigate the likelihood of catching or spreading the virus.
I fail to see how wearing a mask will affect the economy the Japanese have been wearing them for decades.