UAE Reports 1st Omicron Case, New Variant Found in a Fully Vaccinated Passenger

• The United Arab Emirates have placed an African woman in quarantine after she was found to have the Omicron variant
• Several southern African countries had travel bans placed on them by the UAE last week as a preventative measure against the new variant
• The exact destinations along her journey from Africa to the UAE are unknown, but health officials have notified those who came into contact with her to isolate

ABU DHABI - Yesterday (1 December), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) declared that it has recorded its first case of the Omicron variant.

An African woman who travelled to the UAE was tested for Covid-19 when it was discovered that she has Omicron. She travelled from a country in Africa through an Eastern airport to get to the UAE.

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The specific country and airport have not been revealed yet. However, Reuters reports that the woman was fully vaccinated before she began her journey.

The next steps for the UAE and Omicron

The UAE's health officials have placed the woman and those she came into contact with in quarantine.

Saudi Arabi was the first nation in the Gulf region to have a positive case of the Omicron variant and the UAE is the second, merely a day apart. In an effort to curb the spread of the new variant, the UAE has restricted travel from several southern African countries, according to TimesLIVE.

South Africa reacts to news of first Omicron case in UAE

@MathekgaBino believes:

"Covid racism is when suddenly the African continent is the blame because of the pandemic when it didn't even originate from here."

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@_LeboMK said:

"Fully vaccinated people are the ones spreading this virus."

@NgwanaaNtate shared:

"You are really trying to convince the world that this variant originated in Africa."

@liver_mutjokoti believes:

"There is nothing that was detected anywhere, it's all lies from scientists, they are on the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers' payroll."

@gift_skilly said:

"I smell racism in this whole episode. African country and Arab country."

Ballito Rage cancelled, Plett Rage continues as Omicron fears for young people rise

Earlier Briefly News reported that Yesterday (1 December), an announcement was made that Ballito Rage, a post-exams festival for matric students, was cancelled due to several staff members and attendees testing positive for Covid-19. Despite this, its sister festival, Plett Rage in Plettenberg Bay, is going ahead as planned.

Ronen Klugman, the founder of Plett Rage, said that the organising team feel they are in a tricky situation. On the one hand, they do not consider 1 000 people a large gathering and therefore feel that regulations around big events should not apply to them.

On the other hand, there is a vaccine mandate for the festival, which states that only vaccinated ticket holders will be granted access. The organisers say that they possess the documentation that is required to hold such an event under the current circumstances.

Source: Briefly News