Omicron latest: Omicron and the global economy

one lesson the covid-19 pandemic has taught the world, it is that acting early pays off. So when news emerged on November 25th in South Africa of a worrying new variant of the o-2 virus, countries immediately began scrambling to tighten the rules on international travel. By November 29th suspected cases of Omicron had been identified in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. Our most recent stories on the developing situation are listed below. (Apr 9th)Covid has never spread faster than in recent surges in Hong Kong and South Korea (Jan 29th)Covid-19 has made weddings a whole lot cheaper (Jan 29th)The pandemic has increased its prowess (Jan 29th)While people were locked down, their heritage was knocked down (Jan 29th)It has also become more metropolitan (Jan 29th)High-frequency data suggest the effect may be limited—and short-lived (Jan 22nd)Austria is in the vanguard; others may soon follow (Jan 22nd)New covid variants stall aviation’s upward flight path (Jan 22nd)The country has already seen over 600,000 excess deaths(Jan 22nd)Lockdowns and crackdowns are taking their toll (Jan 18th)It is one of few countries where normalcy has regressed over the past year (Jan 17th)Rapid transmission and vaccination discrepancies are part of the explanation (Jan 12th)A new study puts the variant in a group apart from its predecessors (Jan 10th)Some governments are reducing isolation periods in response to the Omicron variant (Jan 10th)Fewer boosters and lower levels of immunity may explain the difference (Jan 5th)Health-care officials start to prioritise societal wellness over individual illness (Jan 3rd)Some lessons have been learnt from the devastating Delta wave of 2021, but not all (Jan 1st)Most such restrictions are disruptive and ineffectual (Jan 1st)People have been quicker to desert offices than shops (Dec 22nd)But the number of infections may still overwhelm hospitals (Dec 17th)Hospitals are likely to struggle but boosters will help, predict two new studies (Dec 16th)Even if infections prove mild, that speed will have grave consequences (Dec 15th)Boosters, or a combination of infection and vaccination, are needed against the new variant (Dec 13th)Karl Lauterbach favours mandatory vaccination and tighter restrictions (Dec 11th) The variant’s capacity for reinfection appears unprecedented (Dec 6th) Politics and the courts have hampered President Biden’s efforts against covid (Dec 2nd)Look to China for the likeliest source of a growth slowdown (Dec 2nd)Much has been learnt about how to treat covid-19 and how to live with it (Dec 1st)Disruptions would pose a test for economic policymakers (Dec 1st) (Dec 1st) (Nov 30th)The rich world should share its jabs for a host of other reasons (Nov 30th)Ugur Sahin stresses the importance of booster shots (Nov 30th) (Nov 29th)South Africans feel unjustly punished for their country’s scientific rigour (Nov 29th)A lack of genomic sequencing means many cases are likely to have gone undetected (Nov 29th)Mutations allow new forms of the virus to better bind to human cells (Nov 29th) (Nov 28th)South Africa’s scientists have bought the world time on Omicron. It should use it (Nov 29th)Tightening American monetary policy, slowing China and the Omicron variant (Nov 26th)How big a threat is Omicron? (Jun 11th)It is simpler, and less contentious, than the technical or colloquial appellations