The travel industry is being influenced by a new variant.
Three of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations have reported finding new COVID-19 cases with the Omicron variant.
The new strain of the virus has been reported in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany, prompting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – as well as the country of Israel – to implement updated safety precautions.
According to Reuters News Service, Israel is banning all foreign visitors and will resume counter-terrorism efforts, including phone-tracking technology.
“We will require anyone who enters the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result,” Johnson said in England.
The Omicron variant originated in southern Africa, and several countries, including the United States, have imposed travel bans on residents of South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Although there were two cases detected in the United Kingdom, two in Germany, and one in Milan, Italy, Chris Witty, the Chief Medical Officer in the United Kingdom, expressed optimism about Omicron.
“There is a reasonable chance that at least some vaccine escape will occur with this variant,” Witty said.
It will be crucial to watch how the stock market reacts when it reopens on Monday, November 28. Travel stocks plummeted on Friday, the 25th, following news that the United States, Canada, and several European and Asian countries had imposed travel restrictions on southern African nations.
Australia, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Oman, Kuwait, and Hungary have all announced new travel restrictions since that time.