Covid-19: Brazil’s health regulator warns that Omicron variant may be in the country

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Faced with the new Omicron variant being identified in Europe, after emerging in Africa, it is possible that it is also already circulating in Brazil, according to Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) director-president Antonio Barra Torres on Friday, November 26.

“The possibility does exist, we cannot say that there is a zero chance that it is already in Brazil, that it is impossible. The likelihood that we have a case that has not been identified exists, it is a possibility,” he explained.

NEW VARIANT

A new variant of the coronavirus has been identified in some African countries, such as South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named the new strain Omicron.

According to the W.H.O., the new variant is more transmissible and has been associated with the continuous increase of coronavirus infections in this group of African countries, whose vaccination coverage is low.

Given the risks, ANVISA on Friday, November 26, recommended restrictive measures on flights coming from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

According to Torres, there are ANVISA teams at ports, airports and borders following the development of the news.

“This morning we officially sent a technical note to the Chief of Staff providing guidance on the restriction – temporary for now – on flights from these Southern African countries or passengers who had stopovers. We hope that this measure will be accepted today by the Chief of Staff, Justice, Health and Infrastructure Ministries, who are responsible for signing border regulations,” said Torres.

Considering that the restriction measure has been adopted in other countries, Torres believes that it will likely be implemented by many other nations.

“Countries like Italy, Germany, and Japan have taken the same measure, especially at this first moment when there are more doubts than certainties. All we know is that there was an exponential increase in the number of cases where this variant was detected,” he said.

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