November 30 Omicron coronavirus variant news

By Adrienne Vogt, Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Sheena McKenzie and Ed Upright, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, December 1, 2021
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11:15 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

South Korea reports record number of daily Covid-19 cases

From CNN’s Gawon Bae in Seoul, South Korea

A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Covid-19 test at a temporary testing site outside Seoul Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021.
A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Covid-19 test at a temporary testing site outside Seoul Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

South Korea recorded 5,123 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, a record single-day figure, according to a news release from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

KDCA said 5,075 of the new infections were locally transmitted, with 4,110 detected in the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

The country also reported 34 additional fatalities, bringing the total death toll to 3,658, according to KDCA. Some 723 patients are in critical condition, KDCA added.

South Korea has now reported a total of 452,350 cases.

As of Wednesday, 82.9% of the population had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 79.9% had been fully vaccinated, KDCA said.

Suspected Omicron cases: South Korea is investigating at least two suspected cases of the Omicron variant, with results due on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Health Ministry and KDCA will form a task force along with related ministries to respond to the Omicron variant.

9:38 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

Research finds natural infection protects against new variants of Covid-19 — but not completely

From CNN Health’s Maggie Fox

A new study looking closely at the same group of people over time shows that natural coronavirus infection can protect people from infection with new variants — but it doesn't offer enough protection to prevent new waves of infection across a population.

The ongoing study of more than 2,000 volunteers in Nicaragua shows people infected in the first waves of Covid-19 were protected against severe disease when the Gamma and Delta variants swept through later. 

The researchers, led by epidemiologist Aubree Gordon and colleagues at the University of Michigan, also said they identified what are known as correlates of protection — the measurements needed to know whether someone is likely to have immunity against another infection.

"While second infections were somewhat less severe, they were not as mild as ideal. A strategy involving vaccination will be needed to ease the burden of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic," the team wrote in their report, posted on the pre-print server medRxiv. While the work has been submitted to a medical journal, it has not yet been peer-reviewed or published.

The team has been regularly testing the volunteers for flu for several years and added coronavirus when the pandemic started. By March of this year, more than 62% of them had been infected at least once.

"After March 2021, Gamma and Delta variants predominated," the team wrote.

People who had antibodies against coronavirus were 69% less likely to get infected a second time and the higher their levels of antibodies directed against the virus’ spike protein, the less likely they were to become infected again. This measurement is known as a correlate of protection.

“Such an immune correlate of protection would inform vaccine policy, allow more rapid development of vaccines, and could guide targeting of at-risk populations for vaccination — including when and how often to boost," Gordon’s team added.  

The team did not test the effects of vaccination for this report but will be testing that in future research, Gordon told CNN.

9:42 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

Israeli health minister says there are "indications" Covid vaccine protects against Omicron

From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali

A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine on a man in Jerusalem on August 29, 2021
A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine on a man in Jerusalem on August 29, 2021 (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

There are “indications” that people who received a coronavirus vaccine booster are “protected” against the Omicron variant, Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Tuesday.

“In the coming days we will have more accurate information about the efficacy of the vaccine against Omicron, but there is already room for optimism, and there are initial indications that those who are vaccinated with a vaccine still valid or with a booster will also be protected from this variant,” Horowitz said at a news conference.

Boosters have been available in Israel to anyone over age 16 since late August, five months after their second dose of the vaccine. A person is not considered fully vaccinated in the country until they have received a third dose, once they are eligible for it.

8:10 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

US considers stricter coronavirus testing for international travelers

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins

Top US government officials are considering requiring everyone who enters the United States to be tested for Covid-19 the day before their flight and having all travelers — including US citizens and permanent residents — be tested again after returning home, regardless of vaccination status, sources familiar with the thinking have told CNN.

Officials were deliberating Tuesday night and no final decisions have been made, but an announcement could come as soon as this week. Currently, travelers are required to test three days before their departures. The move under consideration would shorten that timeline to one day.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters earlier Tuesday the CDC was "evaluating how to make international travel as safe as possible, including pre-departure testing closer to the time of flight and considerations around additional post-arrival testing and self-quarantines."

On Monday, the US banned all travel from South Africa and seven neighboring nations, with the exception of US citizens and legal permanent residents, who must test negative to enter the US but not once they have arrived.

Read more:

6:40 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

Biden says decisions on southern Africa travel restrictions is "going week-to-week"

From CNN's Maegan Vazquez

President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force One at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis, Tuesday, November 30, after visiting Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota.
President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force One at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis, Tuesday, November 30, after visiting Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

President Biden said on Tuesday that travel restrictions on countries in southern Africa “kind of depends” on the Omicron coronavirus variant, also suggesting he won’t “shock allies” like former President Donald Trump did when he barred travel from Europe earlier in the pandemic.  

Asked if he’s considering any new vaccine requirements or efforts to get more Americans vaccinated, Biden told reporters on a tarmac in Minnesota, “I’ll be talking about that on Thursday.” 

The President also said that it “kind of depends” how long travel restrictions on Southern Africa will remain in place.  

“Well, it kind of depends. It’s going week-to-week, to determine what we need and the what the state of affairs (is). We’re going to learn a lot more in the next couple of weeks about the lethality of this virus, about how much it spreads, about whether what we have can control it, etc.,” Biden said. 

When asked about travel restrictions, given that former President Trump’s 2020 decision to bar travel from Europe shocked allies, Biden remarked, “Unlike Trump, I don’t shock our allies.” 

5:22 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

FDA advisers vote to recommend emergency use authorization of Merck's pill to treat Covid-19

From CNN's Maggie Fox and Jen Christensen

This photo from Merck & Co, Inc., provided in May, shows Molnupiravir capsules.
This photo from Merck & Co, Inc., provided in May, shows Molnupiravir capsules. (Merck & Co, Inc./AFP via Getty Images)

Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 13-10 Tuesday to recommend emergency use authorization of a pill made by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to help treat Covid-19.

Members of the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee were split in their vote to recommend molnupiravir, which can reduce the risk someone will progress to severe disease or death by about 30%.

The pills must be taken within five days of symptoms starting to do much good, and people must take pills twice a day for five days. Members of the committee were worried about risks to pregnant women.

Molnupiravir is not the only antiviral scientists are developing against Covid-19. Pfizer applied for authorization of its antiviral pill this month. The FDA has not yet set a date for its advisory panel to review that drug.

Next, the FDA will consider the committee’s recommendation. It doesn’t have to follow the committee’s advice, but often does.

Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, is an antiviral approved to treat Covid-19 but it’s infused, not given as a pill.

4:45 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

Canada is now reporting 6 cases of the Omicron variant

From CNN’s Paula Newton

Alberta’s top doctor confirmed Canada’s sixth case of the new coronavirus variant Omicron. 

In addition, federal health officials say they will expand the travel ban on foreign travelers from countries in Africa to include Nigeria, where most of Canada’s cases have been linked.

Some background: Earlier today, Canada confirmed five cases of the Omicron variant and health officials in several provinces say they continue to investigate dozens of other suspected cases across the country.

Four of the cases have been confirmed in Ottawa and a fifth case was been identified in the province of Quebec.

Quebec’s health minister, Christian Dubé, speaking at a news conference Monday said more than a hundred travelers from southern African countries were asked to take a new Covid-19 test and isolate. 

4:19 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

US stocks sink on Omicron and Fed fears

From CNN's Paul R. La Monica 

US stocks tumbled Tuesday as renewed concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19 weighed on sentiment.

Comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell didn't help. Powell told Congress that the Fed no longer thought inflation was "transitory," and he hinted that the Fed could accelerate its plans to cut back on, or taper, bond purchases. 

Here's how stocks closed the trading day:

  • The Dow dropped more than 650 points, or 1.9%
  • The S&P 500 also fell 1.9%
  • The Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 1.6%.

Note: As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.

4:16 p.m. ET, November 30, 2021

Latin America's first Omicron variant cases reported in Brazil 

From CNN's Shasta Darlington and Anusha Rathi

The Brazilian health agency, Anvisa, said on Tuesday that two Brazilians had tested positive for the new Omicron coronavirus variant. 

This marks the first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Latin America and makes Brazil the 20th country to report the new variant.

A passenger, who had flown in from South Africa on the 23rd with a negative Covid-19 test result, did a new test along with his wife to prepare for a return flight back to South Africa when the results came back positive. 

“The Agency emphasizes that the passenger's entry into Brazil took place on 11/23, that is, before the worldwide notification on the identification of the new variant,” Anvisa added.

Brazil has since suspended flights from South Africa.

The samples are being sent to another laboratory for confirmatory analysis, Anvisa said.