As of 10 AM Pacific Time, BNO News reported 234 cases of Omicron virus worldwide, that's 134% increase from last Friday. Omicron are found in South Africa, UK, Botswana, Netherland, Portugal, Australia, Germany, Canada, HongKong, Italy, Israel, Denmark, Japan, France, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Finland and Switzerland.---BNO News 11/30/2021
"The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation. Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people's willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions." – Jay Powell 11/30/2021
Moderna (MRNA) CEO Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times that the company's current COVID-19 vaccine would likely see a "material drop" in effectiveness against the Omicron variant, while noting more data was needed to see any extent of the decline. Separately, Pfizer's (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC he didn't "think that the result will be the vaccines don't protect," but that "the result could be, which we don't know yet, the vaccines protect less."---yahoo.com 11/30/2021
Speaking on CNBC Monday morning following a holiday weekend in the US marked by rising hysteria over the new "Omicron" variant, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel warned that any country that has received flights from southern Africa over the last two weeks very likely has already imported this new, highly infectious variant-even as others push back against claims that the new variant is hyper infectious. ---ZeroHedge 11/29/2021
The Prime Minister of Belgium says Alexander De Croo :"You could say that this is Covid-21 instead of Covid-19: it is three times more infectious than the original virus." ---ZeroHedge 11/28/2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday that it wouldn't be surprised if Omicron is already in US, predicts it will go all over. ---Fox News 11/27/2021
Two planes carrying some 600 passengers from South Africa brought 61 people infected with covid to the Netherlands, Dutch health authorities said on Saturday. ---Washington Post 11/27/2021
The World Health Organization Friday designated the strain, now named Omicron, as a variant of concern and said multiple studies are underway as advisers continue to monitor the variant.While scientists say there is reason to be concerned over the variant, they stress there is still a lot we don't know - including whether the variant is indeed more contagious, whether it causes more severe disease or what its effects on vaccine efficacy may be. ---CNN 11/26/2021
Lawrence Young, a virologist and a professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom, said the Omicron variant was "very worrying.""It is the most heavily mutated version of the virus we have seen to date. This variant carries some changes we've seen previously in other variants but never all together in one virus. It also has novel mutations," Young said in a statement .The variant has a high number of mutations, about 50 overall. Crucially, South African genomic scientists said Thursday more than 30 of the mutations were found in the spike protein - the structure the virus uses to get into the cells they attack.Neil Ferguson, the director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, said in a statement the number of mutations on the spike protein was "unprecedented.""The spike protein gene [is] the protein which is the target of most vaccines. There is therefore a concern that this variant may have a greater potential to escape prior immunity than previous variants," Ferguson said. ---CNN 11/26/2021
Researchers in South Africa are racing to track the concerning rise of a new variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The variant harbours a large number of mutations found in other variants, including Delta, and it seems to be spreading quickly across South Africa . A top priority is to follow the variant more closely as it spreads: it was first identified in Botswana this month and has turned up in travellers to Hong Kong from South Africa. Scientists are also trying to understand the variant's properties, such as whether it can evade immune responses triggered by vaccines and whether it causes more or less severe disease than other variants do. ---Nature.com 11/26/2021
As of Thursday there were almost 100 cases detected in South Africa, where it's become the dominant strain among new infections. Early PCR test results showed that 90% of 1,100 new cases reported Wednesday in the South African province that includes Johannesburg were caused by the new variant, according to de Oliveira.In neighboring Botswana, officials recorded four cases on Monday in people who were fully vaccinated. In Hong Kong, a traveler from South Africa was found to have the variant, and another case was identified in a person quarantined in a hotel room across the hall. Israel has also identified one case in a man who recently traveled to Malawi. Belgium has also reported two new cases. According to de Oliveira, this new variant, B.1.1.529 "seems to spread very quick! In less than 2 weeks now dominates all infections following a devastating Delta wave in South Africa (Blue new variant, now at 75% of last genomes and soon to reach 100%)" ---ZeroHedge.com 11/26/2021
Experts with the World Health Organization were meeting Friday to assess a COVID-19 variant in South Africa that has been rapidly spreading among young people and has already spawned numerous mutations. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said American officials will have a call with South African officials Friday to find out more about the variant. He added there was no indication the variant had arrived in the U.S. yet. It's too early to say whether the new variant, dubbed B.1.1.529, is going to have the potential impact of the troublesome delta variant. But the WHO will decide soon whether to give the latest variant a name from the Greek alphabet, one of the first indicators that it is worth consideration as an increased threat. ---USA Today 11/26/2021
The World Health Organization is pleading with world leaders not to engage in knee-jerk reactions to a new variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 that has emerged in South Africa, as a number of countries immediately announced travel bans from that country and some of its neighbors.UK and European Union were taking no chances and immediately announced bans on travelers from South Africa and other countries in southern Africa, while others, including Japan, said travelers would be forced to quarantine in government-run accommodation for 10 days to allow for regular testing, as the Associated Press reported. ---Marketwatch.com 11/26/2021
PETER CHATWELL, HEAD OF MULTI-ASSET STRATEGY AT MIZUHO INTERNATIONAL:The European lockdowns on their own would have meant soft Q4 GDP growth, but a Q1 rebound. US, UK, Asia all looked unaffected by Europe's problem. If the new variant does deliver its potential (usurping Delta, and reducing vaccine efficacy) we need to think about a globally soft/flat Q4 and Q1 GDP growth. Vaccine efficacy will determine the severity of lockdowns, and therefore whether this becomes another recession. RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, EUROPE:It is the threat of vaccine escape that causes the market reaction in both equities (down) and bonds (up). As long as markets are faced with a familiar virus situation that can be overcome with a sufficiently crafted and executed vaccination strategy, the reactions will be muted, as we have seen with the short-lived bond market rally last week when new lockdowns were announced in Europe. This new variant, however, creates a potential threat to the known responses and thus creates a more lasting market response. ---Livemint.com 11/26/2021
截至太平洋时间上午 10 点，BNO 新闻报道了全球 234 例 Omicron 病毒病例，比上周五增加了 134%。 Omicron 病例分布于南非、英国、博茨瓦纳、荷兰、葡萄牙、澳大利亚、德国、加拿大、香港、意大利、以色列、丹麦、日本、法国、奥地利、瑞典、比利时、捷克共和国、西班牙、芬兰和瑞士。-- -BNO 新闻 11/30/2021
“最近 COVID-19 病例的增加以及 Omicron 变体的出现给就业和经济活动带来了下行风险，并增加了通货膨胀的不确定性。对病毒的更大担忧是可能会降低人们亲自工作的意愿，这将减缓劳动力市场并加剧供应链中断。” —联储主席 杰·鲍威尔 11/30/2021
Moderna (MRNA) 首席执行官 Stephane Bancel 告诉英国《金融时报》说该公司目前的 COVID-19 疫苗对 Omicron 变体的有效性可能会“实质性下降”，同时指出需要更多数据才能看到下降的程度。另外，辉瑞 (Pfizer) 的 (PFE) 首席执行官阿尔伯特·布尔拉 (Albert Bourla) 告诉 CNBC，他并不“认为结果会是疫苗没有保护作用”，但“结果可能是，我们尚不知道，疫苗保护的作用较小.”---yahoo.com 11/30/2021
比利时首相亚历山大·德克罗说：“你可以说这是 Covid-21 而不是 Covid-19：它的传染性是原始病毒的三倍。” ---ZeroHedge 2021/11/28
Anthony Fauci 博士周六表示，如果说Omicron 已经在美国，它不会感到惊讶，并预测它将散布到各地。 ---福克斯新闻 11/27/2021
荷兰卫生当局周六表示，两架载有约 600 名来自南非的乘客的飞机将 61 名感染新冠病毒的人带到了荷兰。 ---华盛顿邮报 11/27/2021
世界卫生组织周五将这种现在命名为 Omicron 的菌株指定为令人担忧的变种病毒，并表示随着顾问继续监测该变种并且正在进行多项研究。虽然科学家们表示有理由担心这种变种，但他们强调仍然存在很多我们不知道——包括变异是否确实更具传染性，是否会导致更严重的疾病，或者它对疫苗效力的影响可能是什么。 ---CNN 11/26/2021
英国华威医学院的病毒学家、分子肿瘤学教授劳伦斯·杨说，Omicron 变种“非常令人担忧”。 “我们之前在其他变体中看到了一些变化，但从未在一个病毒中全部出现。它还具有新的突变，”杨在一份声明中说。该变体具有大量突变，总共约 50 个。至关重要的是，南非基因组科学家周四表示，在刺突蛋白中发现了 30 多个突变 - 病毒用来进入它们攻击的细胞的结构。 尼尔弗格森，帝国理工学院全球传染病分析中心主任伦敦学院在一份声明中表示，刺突蛋白的突变数量“前所未有”。与以前的变种相比，有可能逃避先前的免疫力，”弗格森说。 ---CNN 11/26/2021
南非的研究人员正在竞相追踪引起 COVID-19 的冠状病毒新变种的上升趋势。该变体包含在包括 Delta 在内的其他变体中发现的大量突变，并且它似乎正在南非迅速传播。当它传播时，当务之急是更密切地关注该变种：它本月在博茨瓦纳首次被发现，并已出现在从南非到香港的旅客中。科学家们还试图了解该变体的特性，例如它是否可以逃避疫苗引发的免疫反应，以及它是否会比其他变体引起更严重或更轻的疾病。 ---Nature.com 11/26/2021
截至周四，南非已发现近 100 例病例，它已成为新感染病例中的主要毒株。据 de Oliveira 称，早期 PCR 检测结果显示，周三在包括约翰内斯堡在内的南非省报告的 1,100 例新病例中有 90% 是由新变种引起的。 在邻国博茨瓦纳，官员们周一记录了四例完全接种疫苗的人.在香港，一名来自南非的旅客被发现携带该变种，另外一名在大厅对面的酒店房间内被隔离的人也被发现。以色列还发现了一名最近前往马拉维的男子的病例。比利时还报告了两例新病例。根据 de Oliveira 的说法，这种新变种 B.1.1.529“似乎传播得非常快！在南非毁灭性的Delata浪潮之后，在不到 2 周的时间里现在主导了所有感染（蓝色新变种，现在占最后一个基因组的 75%很快就会达到 100%)”---ZeroHedge.com 11/26/2021
世界卫生组织的专家周五开会评估南非的 COVID-19 变体，该变体在年轻人中迅速传播，并且已经产生了许多突变。与此同时，乔·拜登总统的首席医疗顾问安东尼·福奇博士表示，美国官员将于周五与南非官员通电话，以了解有关该变种的更多信息。他补充说，目前还没有迹象表明该变种已经抵达美国。现在说被称为 B.1.1.529 的新变体是否会产生麻烦的 delta 变体的潜在影响还为时过早。但世卫组织将很快决定是否给最新的变种一个希腊字母的名字，这是值得考虑的首要指标之一，因为它是一个增加的威胁。 ---今日美国 11/26/2021
世界卫生组织恳求世界各国领导人不要对南非出现的导致 COVID-19 的冠状病毒的新变种做出下意识的反应，因为一些国家立即宣布了该国的旅行禁令，一些英国和欧盟没有冒险，立即宣布禁止来自南非和南部非洲其他国家的旅客，而包括日本在内的其他国家则表示，旅客将被迫在政府经营的住所隔离 10 天，正如美联社报道的那样，允许定期测试。 ---Marketwatch.com 11/26/2021
MIZUHO INTERNATIONAL 多资产策略主管 PETER CHATWELL：欧洲的封锁本身就意味着第四季度 GDP 增长疲软，但第一季度会反弹。美国、英国、亚洲似乎都没有受到欧洲问题的影响。如果新变种确实发挥其潜力（篡夺 Delta 并降低疫苗效力），我们需要考虑全球第四季度和第一季度 GDP 增长疲软/持平。疫苗效力将决定封锁的严重程度，因此这是否会成为另一场衰退。 RBC CAPITAL MARKETS，欧洲：正是逃避疫苗的威胁导致股票（下跌）和债券（上涨）的市场反应。只要市场面临着熟悉的病毒情况，而这种情况可以通过精心设计和执行的疫苗接种策略来克服，那么反应就会平息，正如我们在上周宣布新的封锁措施时债券市场的短暂反弹中所看到的那样。欧洲。然而，这种新变体对已知反应造成了潜在威胁，从而产生了更持久的市场反应。 ---Livemint.com 11/26/2021
