OMICRON HIGHLIGHTS NEEDS TO CONTINUE TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS: A few cases of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 are popping up in countries from the US to North Korea. In America, the White House is scheduled to make a formal announcement on Thursday about stricter measures that will be put in place, especially for international visitors. But there is absolutely no sign that the US will close its borders. Most countries have acted with caution, and common-sense measures to the new variant. This is reasonable, given that there still needs to be more information out about exactly how dangerous this strain of coronavirus is and how it spreads. Financial markets from Japan to Australia have been shaken by the uncertainty causes by Omicron. For now, it appears that the right thing to do is to take all precautions and wait for more details on this new variant from institutions like the World Health Organisation. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International editor]
AFP