UK Govt Considers COVID Restrictions On China Arrivals, Uruguay Detects Omicron Variants

With the deadly Coronavirus still plaguing many countries and not totally eradicated in China, the epicenter, the UK government will consider imposing strict COVID-19 restrictions for arrivals from China on Thursday, including requiring tests for the coronavirus.

This was disclosed in reports in some English tabloids.

The pandemic was first detected in China and it became a global problem that claimed millions of lives.

Drugs to fight the resistance of the virus were produced by some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

Meanwhile, Uruguay’s Public Health Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that experts have detected two new Omicron sub-variants in the country, amid a wave of new COVID-19 cases and potential further COVID restrictions.

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The Epidemiology Division of the Public Health Laboratory Department “has recently detected the low-frequency presence of two new Omicron subvariants: XBB.1 and DL.1,” the ministry said in a statement.

The predominant variant globally continues to be Omicron and viruses change over time, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the statement.

“The public should continue to practice prevention and get vaccinated,” the ministry said.

Public Health Minister, Daniel Salinas, on Wednesday also confirmed via social media that to the already circulating subvariants in Uruguay, officials were adding XBB.1 and DL.1, which were all Omicron variants that “could be part of the current increase in cases.”

On Monday, the health ministry said 8,216 new COVID-19 cases were registered in the country during the week of December 18 to 24, up 66 percent from the previous week. Last week also saw 10 deaths from the coronavirus in Uruguay.