Background: As of Monday, the Biden administration banned travel from South Africa, which first reported the new variant, as well as from nearby Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi and Mozambique. But there have been indications that the variant may have originated in Europe, raising questions about whether the U.S. might again shut down flights from Europe, mere weeks after they had been lifted.
Even as the worldtries to grapple with the new threat, Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said the U.S.’ mitigation measures for travel offer robust protections in addition to the standard recommendations and practices — wearing masks, getting vaccinated and other tools — for the American public.
Walensky on Tuesday touted pre-departure travel actions, such as testing before boarding a flight. Coupled with “international travel policies that have helped to keep Americans safe as well as our genomic surveillance system,” these measures will aid in detecting Omicron “should and when it occur” stateside, she said.
Separately, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the same applies to the Canadian border, which reopened to fully vaccinated foreign travelers earlier this month.
“The president’s decisions related to travel restrictions will be based on the recommendations of his health and medical team, they have not advised [closing the border] to this point,” she said. “But we will continue to assess what steps we need to take.”
Advice from the WHO: Meanwhile, the World Health Organization, which designated Omicron a “variant of concern” on Nov. 26, recommended foreign travelers age 60 and above stay home if they’re unvaccinated or are at increased risk because of other health conditions.
“Persons who have not been fully vaccinated or do not have proof of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and are at increased risk of developing severe disease and dying, including people 60 years of age or older or those with comorbidities that present increased risk of severe COVID-19 (e.g. heart disease, cancer and diabetes) should be advised to postpone travel to areas with community transmission,” the organization said.
Welcome to The Data Point, a series from the NBC News Data Graphics team that explains a slice of the latest news through charts and visuals.
The southern tip of Africa is feeling the brunt of the Covid omicron travel bans.
As of Tuesday, 33 countries — including the United States — have issued new travel bans or restrictions in the wake of the new variant, news about which was revealed just four days ago. Travel to or from South Africa, the country whose scientists first disclosed the new variant, is affected in each of the restrictions. Travel to or from Botswana, which also has confirmed cases of the variant, is restricted by 31 countries.
FILE – A medical worker prepares a shot of Russia’s Sputnik Lite coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in the GUM, State Department store, in Red Square with the St. Basil Cathedral in the background, in Moscow, Russia, Oct. 26, 2021. The developer of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine said Monday Nov. 29, 2021, that it will immediately start working on adapting that COVID-19 vaccine to counter the omicron variant. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
Pavel Golovkin
AP
SAO PAULO — Health officials in Brazil have reported the country’s first confirmed cases of the omicron variant in two travelers arriving from South Africa, the first such cases in Latin America.
The Sao Paulo state health secretariat said Tuesday a 41-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman are in isolation. The two Brazilians had their tests taken on Nov. 25 and showed light symptoms of the disease at the time.
The secretariat statement said both travelers arrived in Brazil on Nov. 23 and took a PCR test before a trip scheduled for two days later. Their positive test results were collected at the Guarulhos international airport, outside Sao Paulo, before a return flight to South Africa.
“After the positive result, the couple was instructed to remain in isolation at home. Both are being monitored by state and municipal (authorities), as well as their respective family members,” said the Sao Paulo health secretariat. It said neither of the two are registered in the state’s vaccination platform.
Another potential case of omicron has been under investigation by Brazilian authorities since Sunday.
The two Brazilians are the first confirmed cases in Latin America, which has suffered heavily from the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil alone has reported more than 600,000 deaths, a figure that analysts believe to be undercounted.
___
Canada is banning foreign nationals from three more countries because of concerns with the omicron COVID-19 variant and all air travelers coming to the country apart from the United States will have to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and will have to isolate themselves until they get the results of their test.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says Canada is banning all foreign nationals who have travelled through Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt because of concerns with the omicron COVID-19 variant.
Canada already announced a ban on foreign nationals from seven countries in southern Africa. Canadians who have visited the 10 countries will have to be tested and quarantine.
The Canadian province of Alberta also confirmed its first case of omicron in an individual who travelled from Nigeria and the Netherlands. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, says the person is asymptomatic.
Alberta is the third province in Canada to report the presence of the Omicron variant. Ontario announced its first cases on Sunday and Quebec reported its first case on Monday.
—-
MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:
— New information shows omicron spread wider earlier than thought
— The EU’s medical agency says it will take two weeks to have an indication whether the current COVID-19 vaccines will be able to deal with the new omicron variant
— U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says new COVID-19 variant could slow the economy and hiring, while also raising uncertainty about inflation.
— Face masks are again mandatory in England in shops and on public transport due to the new variant
— See all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
___
LISBON, Portugal — A hospital in central Portugal says it’s closing its pediatric services after finding out that a health worker who had contact with members of a soccer club affected by an omicron coronavirus variant outbreak was also infected with the same strain.
The Hospital Garcia de Orta in Almada, a town neighboring the Portuguese capital has tested 28 other workers who came into close contact with the positive case and all of them returned as negative, according to a statement released late on Tuesday.
An additional group of 28 hospital users have been identified as at possible risk and authorities were following up with them, it said.
The hospital said it will close both emergency and outpatient pediatric service for two weeks.
Portuguese authorities on Monday reported what appeared to be the first confirmed cases of local omicron transmission in Europe after recording 13 positives among members of the Belenenses SAD professional soccer club, including a player who had returned from South Africa where the strain was first identified.
___
BERLIN — German vaccine-maker BioNTech said Tuesday that it should be able to begin shipping doses of its coronavirus shot for children under 12 in the European Union a week earlier than previously announced.
BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved COVID-19 vaccine together with U.S. partner Pfizer, said the lower-dosage vials will be delivered to EU countries from Dec. 13.
The 27-nation bloc had previously expected the shipments to begin Dec. 20, causing some concern that the start of the vaccine campaign for younger children might be disrupted by the festive period.
BioNTech will provide up to 13 million such doses to EU countries in December.
___
GENEVA — Switzerland is putting off a planned party for its next president and considering enhanced restrictive measures amid rising coronavirus case counts and concerns about the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant.
Health Minister Alain Berset told reporters Tuesday that the omicron variant that was brought to international attention last week “appears contagious — very contagious — and potentially could evade the immunity that we have seen in the pandemic up to now.”
The country of about 8.5 million people recorded more than 7,200 new coronavirus cases per day based on the latest 7-day average of daily cases, up from fewer than 900 in mid-October. The all-time high count was just over 8,000 per day, recorded in late October 2020. Hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 have been rising, but remain far below peak levels about a year ago.
The Swiss government said it was considering a new tightening of anti-COVID restrictions such as by requiring all attendees of indoor public gatherings to show a COVID certificate that shows vaccination or recovery from the virus, or a recent negative test, up from gatherings of more than 30 people now.
Other options include requiring people who have not been vaccinated or haven’t recovered from the illness to work from home, or wear a mask at all times in common workspaces.
Meanwhile, the government, citing “the evolution of the health situation,” announced the postponement of a planned Dec. 16 “party” for Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis before he takes up the Swiss presidency next year. It was to take place in his native region of Ticino along the Italian border.
The Swiss presidency rotates every year among the seven members of the executive Federal Council, and Cassis is set to take over from current president Guy Parmelin.
—-
GENEVA — The World Health Organization says “blanket travel bans” will not prevent the spread of a new coronavirus variant, while acknowledging that countries could order quarantines and take screening measures like testing travelers before or after arrival, or both.
The updated travel guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic comes as dozens of countries have barred flights from southern African countries where the omicron variant was brought to international attention last week. WHO says the move unfairly punishes Botswana and South Africa for doing the right thing and being transparent about the emergence of a new variant.
Some health experts have countered that travel restrictions are effective, and many countries have bucked with WHO’s traditional recommendation against travel bans. WHO said that as of Sunday, 56 countries were reportedly implementing travel measures aimed at curbing the spread of omicron.
“Blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” WHO said, while acknowledging the use of screening measures to help stem the spread of omicron.
In its statement, WHO said that so far, current PCR tests continue to be effective in detecting the variant.
The U.N. health agency also said “essential travel” for emergencies, humanitarian missions and transport of essential supplies “should continue to be prioritized.”
___
MADRID — Health authorities in the Spanish capital have confirmed a second case of the omicron variant in a 61-year-old woman who had returned from a trip to South Africa on Monday.
The woman, who shows no COVID-19 compatible symptoms and was double-vaccinated, had arrived in a different flight to the first case of omicron recorded in Spain, a 51-year-old man with two doses of coronavirus vaccine who traveled over the weekend.
Both patients remain in isolation, the Madrid region’s health department said Tuesday.
Authorities in northeastern Catalonia said they couldn’t establish yet if two suspected cases of coronavirus were related to the new variant, saying the sequencing of samples would not likely be conclusive until Friday.
___
BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian state-owned aircraft brought 70 passengers from South Africa to Bucharest after concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus led to flight cancellations that left people stranded.
Romania’s foreign ministry said 46 of the passengers on the flight that landed Tuesday afternoon were Romanians and included a professional Romanian rugby team.
“European solidarity is a tangible reality,” Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu wrote online after the aircraft landed, noting that 18 EU citizens not from Romania were on the flight.
Seven Romanian citizens in Cape Town failed to board the repatriation flight due to logistical reasons or lack of a PCR test, authorities said.
The national champion rugby team, from Baia Mare in northern Romania, said authorities had undertaken “sustained efforts” to repatriate 31 team members who had been participating in a tournament in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Romanian authorities said Tuesday that 72 Romanian citizens stranded in Morocco after the North African country canceled almost all flights in response to the omicron variant are to be flown home later this week.
___
LISBON, Portugal — All air passengers coming to Portugal must board their planes with a negative coronavirus test if they want to enter the country beginning on Wednesday, when Portugal enacts its second state of emergency this year as it tries to stop a surge in new infections, authorities said Tuesday.
The director of Lisbon’s airport, Rui Alves, told reporters that travelers will be given different wristbands depending on where their trip originated to ease their identification during the airport screening process. The new entry rules were drafted before the first cases of the omicron variant were reported in the country in the last few days.
Those who fail to show a negative test face fines ranging from 300 to 800 euros ($340 to $910). Airlines that transport untested passengers could also be fined 20,000 euros ($22,600) per person and, if they persist, could even lose their license.
PCR or antigen test results will be required for those arriving by land from outside of the European Union and from most EU countries considered at high or medium-high risk.
___
RIGA, Latvia — U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had nothing but praise for South Africa on how it has alerted the world to the new omicron variant of COVID-19.
“I really want to applaud and express gratitude to South Africa and its government for its extraordinary transparency and also the very important work it did in detecting this new variant and in making it known to the world,” he said. “That’s exactly I think, a model of responsibility that South Africa has exhibited that we would hope everyone in the world would show, because we are all in this together.”
Blinken spoke Tuesday at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Riga, Latvia.
___
LONDON — New measures to combat the new omicron variant of coronavirus took effect in England on Tuesday, with face coverings again compulsory in shops and on public transportation, as the government said it would offer all adults a booster dose of vaccine within two months to bolster the nation’s immunity.
From Tuesday morning, all travelers returning to the U.K. must also take a PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
The reintroduction of mandatory face masks brings England closer in line with the rest of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — which had kept some restrictions in place after England lifted all mandatory measures in the summer.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new measures will “buy us time in the face” of the new variant. He said that while many people felt an understandable “sense of exhaustion” at the prospect of renewed restrictions, the U.K.’s position is “immeasurably better than it was a year ago.”
The government said Tuesday that 22 cases of the omicron variant have been identified, a number that is expected to rise.
___
ATHENS — Residents in Greece over 60 years old will have to undergo mandatory vaccinations against coronavirus or face monthly 100-euro ($114) fines beginning next year, the prime minister announced Tuesday, declaring the country’s first general inoculation mandate.
The Greek government decided upon the measure in response to a surge in new daily infections and the emergence of the omicron variant. It will take effect on Jan. 16 and the fines will be added to tax bills, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised statement.
Greece’s overall COVID-19 death toll exceeded 18,000 this week with confirmed new infections at high levels. Roughly a quarter of the country’s adult population remains unvaccinated.
Vaccination mandates were introduced over the summer for health care workers and fire service rescuers in Greece, with those failing to comply being suspended from their jobs indefinitely without pay.
The government has ruled out imposing new lockdowns but says it is targeting the elderly with tougher restrictions to protect the public health service as ICU occupancy is near capacity nationwide.
___
BERLIN — Germany’s national and state leaders will decide Thursday on new measures to tackle a sharp rise in coronavirus infections, officials said after the country’s outgoing and incoming chancellors conferred with governors.
The measures are likely to include restrictions on shopping for unvaccinated people and limiting crowds at soccer matches, along with possible moves toward a vaccine mandate for all.
Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her designated successor, Olaf Scholz, held talks with Germany’s 16 state governors on Tuesday, hours after the country’s top court strengthened politicians’ hand by rejecting complaints against curfews and other restrictions imposed earlier this year.
Many states have tightened rules of their own accord, but experts and politicians have called for more coordinated national action as infection rates hit new highs.
___
MOSCOW — Russian authorities on Tuesday tightened coronavirus restrictions because of the omicron variant, even though the country has yet to report its first confirmed case.
Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health agency Rospotrebnadzor, announced Tuesday that travelers arriving from countries where the risk of contracting the omicron variant of coronavirus is high will have to quarantine for two weeks. She didn’t specify which countries were on the list.
Popova also said that results of PCR tests for coronavirus, used in many Russian regions to gain access to public places, will remain valid for only 48 hours instead of 72 hours.
“The new variant indeed elicits serious concerns and demands immediate, comprehensive study,” Popova said.
___
GENEVA — The Swiss government says travelers arriving from Canada, Japan, Niger and Portugal will be required starting Wednesday to present both a negative COVID-19 test and undergo a 10-day quarantine.
The new measures were announced on Tuesday after cases of the newly identified coronavirus variant omicron turned up in those countries.
On Friday, the Swiss government initiated a similar requirement for travelers from Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel, and banned all flights from seven countries in southern Africa where cases of the variant were first detected.
___
WASHINGTON — Drugmaker Regeneron says that its COVID-19 antibody cocktail may be less effective against the omicron variant, though the company says more testing is needed to gauge the effect.
Regeneron’s cocktail is one of three antibody treatments that have become the standard U.S. treatments for COVID-19 patients who do not yet require hospitalization. The federal government has purchased and distributed millions of doses of the drugs, which are infused or injected by health professionals.
Because of mutations in the omicron variant, health authorities have warned that some vaccines and antibodies may lose their potency.
Regeneron says it is doing more analysis to define the variant’s impact on its drug’s effectiveness.
The company also says it is testing alternate antibodies that may be more effective against the new variant.
___
MADRID — Spain’s government has banned flights connecting air routes from South Africa and six neighboring countries to the European country due to fears of the new omicron coronavirus variant.
The order affects any connecting flights from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Spain has no direct flights to southern Africa. The order will take effect on Thursday.
Spanish health authorities have reported one confirmed case of the omicron strain in a 51-year-old man who flew from South Africa to Madrid via Amsterdam. He was fully vaccinated and is showing mild symptoms. Three more possible cases are under investigation.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, though the World Health Organization warned that the global risk from the variant is “very high” and early evidence suggests it could be more contagious.
___
RIGA, Latvia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was discovered in South Africa, underscores the point that “none of us will be fully safe until everyone is.”
Speaking in Riga, Latvia, during a two-day meeting of the NATO foreign ministers, Blinken also noted “a real disparity” between vaccinations in Africa and the United States and Europe.
“We have vaccination rates in the United States, in Europe of 50, 60, 70%, depending on exactly who you’re counting. And in Africa, it’s more like 14, 15% or less.”
He noted that sometimes the supply of vaccines may actually be sufficient to meet the needs, but the ability to get shots in arms is lacking.
He said the United States was working on a solution that “brings the private sector into the game to help solve these last-mile problems of getting shots and arms. We’re putting that into into motion now.”
___
BRUSSELS — The omicron variant was already in the Netherlands when South Africa alerted the World Health Organization about it last week, Dutch health authorities said Tuesday, adding to fear and confusion over the new version of the coronavirus.
The Netherlands’ RIVM health institute found omicron in samples dating from Nov. 19 and 23. The WHO said South Africa first reported the the variant to the U.N. healthy agency on Nov. 24.
It remains unclear where or when the variant first emerged — but that hasn’t stopped nations from rushing to impose travel restrictions, especially on visitors coming from southern Africa.
Much is still not known about the variant — though the WHO warned that the global risk from the variant is “very high” and early evidence suggests it could be more contagious.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s also a time to be on high alert for holiday scams.
When anyone sees an email bringing attention to the delivery of packages or an offer of a great deal from high-profile retailers, it’s normal to take action and check into it because these are typical, everyday commercial activities during the holidays.
The RBFCU Enterprise Fraud Management Department is advising everyone to be vigilant when it comes to seeing emails with these messages.
“Fraudsters take advantage of the current environment in any way they can in an attempt to get information from consumers,” said Brian Munsterteiger, RBFCU Vice President-Enterprise Fraud Management. “The holidays are a perfect time to exploit that, with all the emails confirming package shipments, delivery dates, etc. Consumers should be cautious of the emails they receive, especially those containing links. An email from a fraudster posing as a popular online merchant (Amazon, BestBuy, etc.) or carrier (FedEx, UPS, etc.) is a way to get consumers to click on malicious links.”
Ad
Since more people may be more at ease about returning to in-person shopping at retail outlets, or they are acting more quickly with their holiday shopping lists because they’ve heard that supply chain issues may be reducing inventories, that doesn’t mean they should forget about the security of their accounts and personal information.
Tip No. 1: Be cautious to open links found in emails or texts that mention you won a free gift card or prize, especially if it’s from an unknown number. If you did not enter to win any prizes, do not open the links.
“People purchase more during the holidays and often aren’t as cautious,” Munsterteiger said. “We’ve seen an uptick in members giving out a ‘one-time passcode’ that is meant as an extra layer of security for signing in to online sites or adding debit/credit cards to mobile wallets. Fraudsters scam consumers into giving up this 6-digit code so they can get access to their accounts/cards.”
Ad
Munsterteiger noted it’s a good idea to remind everyone that a one-time passcode should never be relayed to anyone on the phone. “Of any type of phishing we see,” Munsterteiger said. “This is by far the thing that leads to the most fraud.”
Tip No. 2: A one-time passcode should never be relayed to anyone on the phone.
There are scams seen online that are related to getting free items/gift cards, or sites touting extremely discounted travel, that are abundant through the holidays. It could be a fake site that’s been set up to collect your personal information.
Fear tactics remain popular during the holidays.
“One of the easiest ways fraudsters get consumers to feel fear is to tell them their account is compromised,” Munsterteiger said. “That’s especially the case if it’s one they use all the time (Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook.) We’ve seen scams that lead to the member giving up information because they were led to believe their account with a known company was shut down. During the holidays, consumers are even more anxious than they need to be if they think an account is shut down. This could lead to them doing things they normally wouldn’t do to get the account working again. This behavior falls right into the hands of the fraudsters.”
Ad
Tip No. 3: Check to see if your account is officially compromised by calling the customer service outreach number first. Do not give in to fear from a fraudster that you’re account is compromised.
If you or someone you know sees a fraud, scam, or bad business practice, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
KSAT Community operates in partnership with University Health, Energy Transfer and Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union.
Stocks dropped on Tuesday as volatility resumed after a brief rebound earlier this week, with investors contemplating the impacts of a new coronavirus variant and new comments Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq declined. The Dow, a proxy for cyclical stocks, underperformed against the other two major indexes, dropping more than 400 points, or over 1.2%, intraday on Tuesday. U.S. crude oil prices (CL=F) dropped 4%. And shares of airlines, cruise lines and lodging companies considered to be some of the most exposed to virus-related disruptions each sank in early trading to reverse Monday’s gains.
Investors reacted to Fed Chair Powell’s latest remarks before the Senate Banking Committee, wherein Powell said the central bank could speed up its tapering process to end sooner than previously telegraphed in the face of rising inflationary pressures. The comments came even as some other market participants had expected the Fed to strike a more accommodative tone for longer in the face of the recently discovered Omicron variant.
“At this point the economy is very strong and inflation pressures are high, and it is therefore appropriate, in my view, to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner,” Powell said. “I expect we will discuss that at our upcoming meeting.”
A host of less upbeat new commentary from major coronavirus vaccine-makers also contributed to the selling pressure. Moderna (MRNA) CEO Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times that the company’s current COVID-19 vaccine would likely see a “material drop” in effectiveness against the Omicron variant, while noting more data was needed to see any extent of the decline. Separately, Pfizer’s (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC he didn’t “think that the result will be the vaccines don’t protect,” but that “the result could be, which we don’t know yet, the vaccines protect less.”
Both companies have already said they were collecting data on the Omicron variant and that more definitive information would be available in the coming weeks. Researchers have not yet determined whether the new variant is more easily transmitted, or responsible for more severe illness, than previous versions of the virus.
“Information is coming rapidly, it’s evolving in real-time. You can understand why investors [last week] were taking a little bit of a pause, particularly given the liquidity situation we had going into the U.S. holiday season,” Vivek Paul, BlackRock investment institution U.K. chief investment strategist, told Yahoo Finance Live on Monday.
“We think on balance, it would make sense to be invested in the markets at this moment in time,” he added. “It’s all about understanding whether or not this is a delay, or a derailment, of the restart that we’ve seen. And it seems most likely at this moment — not withstanding more information to come— that it looks like a delay.”
The latest commentary on the variant at least momentarily overtook investors’ optimism over remarks Monday from the White House, when President Joe Biden said Omicron was “not a cause for panic.” Biden said he intended to announce the White House’s strategy for addressing coronavirus this winter later this week, and that this plan would not include lockdowns, but would instead emphasize vaccinations, boosters and testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday updated its guidance to say all individuals aged 18 and older “should” get a booster coronavirus vaccine, strengthening this from previous language primarily aimed at getting those considered most at risk an additional dose of the shots.
Prospects that widespread lockdowns would likely not come to the U.S. in the face of the latest variant helped fuel a broad risk-on rally on Monday. This came in sharp contrast with Friday’s moves immediately following the World Health Organization’s announcement of Omicron as a “variant of concern,” which sparked the Dow’s worst plunge since Oct. 2020.
“This is not a repeat of March 2020,” Paul Schatz, Heritage Capital President, told Yahoo Finance Live on Monday. “This looks nothing like March of 2020, yet it’s so recent in our history, people immediately think, ‘Omicron is here, oh my gosh this is going to be a 30% decline, we’re going to go straight down’ … You need to equally weigh history, not weigh it based on how recent it was in your memory.”
—
4:03 p.m. ET: Stock selloff reignites after Powell’s hawkish remarks, Omicron concerns: Dow drops 653 points, or 1.9%
Here were the main moves in markets as of 4:03 p.m. ET:
Gold (GC=F): -$11.00 (-0.62%) to $1,774.20 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -8.7 bps to yield 1.4430%
—
11:14 a.m. ET: Stock losses accelerate as Powell says tapering could end ‘a few months sooner’ than telegraphed before
Losses in the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq accelerated Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed’s asset-purchase tapering could be sped up to end “a few months sooner” than previously discussed.
The Dow dropped more than 400 points, or over 1.2%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also off more than 1.1% in intraday trading. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell by more than 2%.
In the S&P 500, all 11 major sectors were in the red, and the real estate, consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors underperformed. The materials company Dow Inc., Salesforce.com and American Express were the biggest laggards in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The headline confidence index dropped to 109.5 in November, the Conference Board said. This missed consensus expectations for a drop to just 110.9, according to Bloomberg data. October’s confidence index was also downwardly revised to 111.6, from the 113.8 previously reported.
The drop came as subindices tracking consumers’ assessments of both present situations and expectations deteriorated compared to October.
“Expectations about short-term growth prospects ticked up, but job and income prospects ticked down. Concerns about rising prices—and, to a lesser degree, the Delta variant—were the primary drivers of the slight decline in confidence,” Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement. “Meanwhile, the proportion of consumers planning to purchase homes, automobiles, and major appliances over the next six months decreased.”
“The Conference Board expects this to be a good holiday season for retailers and confidence levels suggest the economic expansion will continue into early 2022. However, both confidence and spending will likely face headwinds from rising prices and a potential resurgence of COVID-19 in the coming months,” Franco added.
—
9:31 a.m. ET: Stocks open lower amid virus fears
Here’s where markets were trading just after the opening bell:
9:07 a.m. ET: Home price growth slowed more than expected in the U.S. in September
U.S. home price growth cooled in September but still remained elevated by pre-pandemic standards, with low interest rates and rising rent costs still stoking home-purchase demand among buyers and pushing up prices.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index rose by 19.5% in September over last year, ticking down from a 19.8% rise in August. The closely watched 20-City Composite index, which tracks home price changes across 20 major metropolitan areas in the U.S., rose by 19.1% year-on-year for September, also coming in below the 19.6 rise in August. And the 20-City Composite was also below analyst expectations for a 19.3% gain, according to Bloomberg consensus data.
According to at least one market pundit, market participants are currently anticipating too much dovishness from the Federal Reserve in response to the latest concerns over the new Omicron variant.
“I suspect that the rates market is misreading the Fed’s COVID reaction function,” Neil Dutta, head of economics at Renaissance Macro Research, wrote in a note Tuesday. “Since the pandemic, each COVID wave has had less of an impact of the economy. For example, during the COVID wave that peaked in January, there was a meaningful slowdown in restaurant traffic.”
“In the most recent wave, there wasn’t a slowdown. Moreover, during the spread of the Delta variant, the Fed ended up making a strong signal to commence tapering in November,” Dutta added. “Thus, I expect to see an unwind of these recent market moves and am skeptical that recent concerns over coronavirus will spill into deeper issues for the U.S. economy.”
—
7:41 a.m. ET Tuesday: Stock futures sink as Omicron concerns resurge
Here’s where markets were trading Tuesday morning:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): -34.5 points (-0.74%), to 4,616.50
Dow futures (YM=F): -306.00 points (-0.87%), to 34,177.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -64.50 points (-0.39%) to 16,326.25
GENEVA — The World Health Organization says “blanket travel bans” will not prevent the spread of a new coronavirus variant, while acknowledging that countries could order quarantines and take screening measures like testing travelers before or after arrival, or both.
The updated travel guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic comes as dozens of countries have barred flights from southern African countries where the omicron variant was brought to international attention last week. WHO says the move unfairly punishes Botswana and South Africa for doing the right thing and being transparent about the emergence of a new variant.
Some health experts have countered that travel restrictions are effective, and many countries have bucked with WHO’s traditional recommendation against travel bans. WHO said that as of Sunday, 56 countries were reportedly implementing travel measures aimed at curbing the spread of omicron.
“Blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” WHO said, while acknowledging the use of screening measures to help stem the spread of omicron.
Political Cartoons on World Leaders
Political Cartoons
In its statement, WHO said that so far, current PCR tests continue to be effective in detecting the variant.
The U.N. health agency also said “essential travel” for emergencies, humanitarian missions and transport of essential supplies “should continue to be prioritized.”
— New information shows omicron spread wider earlier than thought
— The EU’s medical agency says it will take two weeks to have an indication whether the current COVID-19 vaccines will be able to deal with the new omicron variant
— U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says new COVID-19 variant could slow the economy and hiring, while also raising uncertainty about inflation.
— Face masks are again mandatory in England in shops and on public transport due to the new variant
— See all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
MADRID — Health authorities in the Spanish capital have confirmed a second case of the omicron variant in a 61-year-old woman who had returned from a trip to South Africa on Monday.
The woman, who shows no COVID-19 compatible symptoms and was double-vaccinated, had arrived in a different flight to the first case of omicron recorded in Spain, a 51-year-old man with two doses of coronavirus vaccine who traveled over the weekend.
Both patients remain in isolation, the Madrid region’s health department said Tuesday.
Authorities in northeastern Catalonia said they couldn’t establish yet if two suspected cases of coronavirus were related to the new variant, saying the sequencing of samples would not likely be conclusive until Friday.
BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian state-owned aircraft brought 70 passengers from South Africa to Bucharest after concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus led to flight cancellations that left people stranded.
Romania’s foreign ministry said 46 of the passengers on the flight that landed Tuesday afternoon were Romanians and included a professional Romanian rugby team.
“European solidarity is a tangible reality,” Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu wrote online after the aircraft landed, noting that 18 EU citizens not from Romania were on the flight.
Seven Romanian citizens in Cape Town failed to board the repatriation flight due to logistical reasons or lack of a PCR test, authorities said.
The national champion rugby team, from Baia Mare in northern Romania, said authorities had undertaken “sustained efforts” to repatriate 31 team members who had been participating in a tournament in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Romanian authorities said Tuesday that 72 Romanian citizens stranded in Morocco after the North African country canceled almost all flights in response to the omicron variant are to be flown home later this week.
LISBON, Portugal — All air passengers coming to Portugal must board their planes with a negative coronavirus test if they want to enter the country beginning on Wednesday, when Portugal enacts its second state of emergency this year as it tries to stop a surge in new infections, authorities said Tuesday.
The director of Lisbon’s airport, Rui Alves, told reporters that travelers will be given different wristbands depending on where their trip originated to ease their identification during the airport screening process. The new entry rules were drafted before the first cases of the omicron variant were reported in the country in the last few days.
Those who fail to show a negative test face fines ranging from 300 to 800 euros ($340 to $910). Airlines that transport untested passengers could also be fined 20,000 euros ($22,600) per person and, if they persist, could even lose their license.
PCR or antigen test results will be required for those arriving by land from outside of the European Union and from most EU countries considered at high or medium-high risk.
RIGA, Latvia — U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had nothing but praise for South Africa on how it has alerted the world to the new omicron variant of COVID-19.
“I really want to applaud and express gratitude to South Africa and its government for its extraordinary transparency and also the very important work it did in detecting this new variant and in making it known to the world,” he said. “That’s exactly I think, a model of responsibility that South Africa has exhibited that we would hope everyone in the world would show, because we are all in this together.”
Blinken spoke Tuesday at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Riga, Latvia.
LONDON — New measures to combat the new omicron variant of coronavirus took effect in England on Tuesday, with face coverings again compulsory in shops and on public transportation, as the government said it would offer all adults a booster dose of vaccine within two months to bolster the nation’s immunity.
From Tuesday morning, all travelers returning to the U.K. must also take a PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
The reintroduction of mandatory face masks brings England closer in line with the rest of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — which had kept some restrictions in place after England lifted all mandatory measures in the summer.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new measures will “buy us time in the face” of the new variant. He said that while many people felt an understandable “sense of exhaustion” at the prospect of renewed restrictions, the U.K.’s position is “immeasurably better than it was a year ago.”
The government said Tuesday that 22 cases of the omicron variant have been identified, a number that is expected to rise.
ATHENS — Residents in Greece over 60 years old will have to undergo mandatory vaccinations against coronavirus or face monthly 100-euro ($114) fines beginning next year, the prime minister announced Tuesday, declaring the country’s first general inoculation mandate.
The Greek government decided upon the measure in response to a surge in new daily infections and the emergence of the omicron variant. It will take effect on Jan. 16 and the fines will be added to tax bills, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised statement.
Greece’s overall COVID-19 death toll exceeded 18,000 this week with confirmed new infections at high levels. Roughly a quarter of the country’s adult population remains unvaccinated.
Vaccination mandates were introduced over the summer for health care workers and fire service rescuers in Greece, with those failing to comply being suspended from their jobs indefinitely without pay.
The government has ruled out imposing new lockdowns but says it is targeting the elderly with tougher restrictions to protect the public health service as ICU occupancy is near capacity nationwide.
BERLIN — Germany’s national and state leaders will decide Thursday on new measures to tackle a sharp rise in coronavirus infections, officials said after the country’s outgoing and incoming chancellors conferred with governors.
The measures are likely to include restrictions on shopping for unvaccinated people and limiting crowds at soccer matches, along with possible moves toward a vaccine mandate for all.
Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her designated successor, Olaf Scholz, held talks with Germany’s 16 state governors on Tuesday, hours after the country’s top court strengthened politicians’ hand by rejecting complaints against curfews and other restrictions imposed earlier this year.
Many states have tightened rules of their own accord, but experts and politicians have called for more coordinated national action as infection rates hit new highs.
MOSCOW — Russian authorities on Tuesday tightened coronavirus restrictions because of the omicron variant, even though the country has yet to report its first confirmed case.
Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health agency Rospotrebnadzor, announced Tuesday that travelers arriving from countries where the risk of contracting the omicron variant of coronavirus is high will have to quarantine for two weeks. She didn’t specify which countries were on the list.
Popova also said that results of PCR tests for coronavirus, used in many Russian regions to gain access to public places, will remain valid for only 48 hours instead of 72 hours.
“The new variant indeed elicits serious concerns and demands immediate, comprehensive study,” Popova said.
GENEVA — The Swiss government says travelers arriving from Canada, Japan, Niger and Portugal will be required starting Wednesday to present both a negative COVID-19 test and undergo a 10-day quarantine.
The new measures were announced on Tuesday after cases of the newly identified coronavirus variant omicron turned up in those countries.
On Friday, the Swiss government initiated a similar requirement for travelers from Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel, and banned all flights from seven countries in southern Africa where cases of the variant were first detected.
WASHINGTON — Drugmaker Regeneron says that its COVID-19 antibody cocktail may be less effective against the omicron variant, though the company says more testing is needed to gauge the effect.
Regeneron’s cocktail is one of three antibody treatments that have become the standard U.S. treatments for COVID-19 patients who do not yet require hospitalization. The federal government has purchased and distributed millions of doses of the drugs, which are infused or injected by health professionals.
Because of mutations in the omicron variant, health authorities have warned that some vaccines and antibodies may lose their potency.
Regeneron says it is doing more analysis to define the variant’s impact on its drug’s effectiveness.
The company also says it is testing alternate antibodies that may be more effective against the new variant.
MADRID — Spain’s government has banned flights connecting air routes from South Africa and six neighboring countries to the European country due to fears of the new omicron coronavirus variant.
The order affects any connecting flights from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Spain has no direct flights to southern Africa. The order will take effect on Thursday.
Spanish health authorities have reported one confirmed case of the omicron strain in a 51-year-old man who flew from South Africa to Madrid via Amsterdam. He was fully vaccinated and is showing mild symptoms. Three more possible cases are under investigation.
Much remains unknown about the new variant, though the World Health Organization warned that the global risk from the variant is “very high” and early evidence suggests it could be more contagious.
RIGA, Latvia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was discovered in South Africa, underscores the point that “none of us will be fully safe until everyone is.”
Speaking in Riga, Latvia, during a two-day meeting of the NATO foreign ministers, Blinken also noted “a real disparity” between vaccinations in Africa and the United States and Europe.
“We have vaccination rates in the United States, in Europe of 50, 60, 70%, depending on exactly who you’re counting. And in Africa, it’s more like 14, 15% or less.”
He noted that sometimes the supply of vaccines may actually be sufficient to meet the needs, but the ability to get shots in arms is lacking.
He said the United States was working on a solution that “brings the private sector into the game to help solve these last-mile problems of getting shots and arms. We’re putting that into into motion now.”
BRUSSELS — The omicron variant was already in the Netherlands when South Africa alerted the World Health Organization about it last week, Dutch health authorities said Tuesday, adding to fear and confusion over the new version of the coronavirus.
The Netherlands’ RIVM health institute found omicron in samples dating from Nov. 19 and 23. The WHO said South Africa first reported the the variant to the U.N. healthy agency on Nov. 24.
It remains unclear where or when the variant first emerged — but that hasn’t stopped nations from rushing to impose travel restrictions, especially on visitors coming from southern Africa.
Much is still not known about the variant — though the WHO warned that the global risk from the variant is “very high” and early evidence suggests it could be more contagious.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rocket League Sideswipe released on Monday in Europe and North America. Sideswipe is the mobile version of Rocket League, and it’s available for free on both iPhone and Android devices and can be downloaded from their relevant stores. That means it is time for some Rocket League Sideswipe beginner tips, like an easy way to fast aerial, among others.
Rocket League Sideswipe tip 1: How to fast aerial with one button
Anyone who plays Rocket League knows how important it is to beat your opponent to the ball. The fast aerial helps a lot, but simply jumping and then boosting is not going to be fast enough. Of course, players may be quick with button presses, but Psyonix has actually made life easier for Rocket League Sideswipe players. There is a single button that lets players jump and boost at the same time, it’s just disabled by default. Here’s how to enable it:
First, tap the cogwheel in the main menu at the top right of your screen, then tap ‘Game Settings’ and then ‘Configure’ at the top.
In this menu, you’ll see an option marked in red. That’s the jump and boost button.
Tap it and tick ‘Enabled’.
You’ll also be able to set up your UI here, so it’s a good idea to experiment and see what button locations and sizes work best for you.
Now that you’re all set up, you can jump and boost simultaneously with the single press of a button. This will allow you to get to the ball in the air faster than opponents who manually input these abilities. Test it out in free play, but be warned, sometimes just boosting or jumping is better. However, this will increase your overall speediness, which is extremely helpful in the lower ranks.
Tip 2: How to be faster overall
Speaking of speediness, don’t forget that aiming somewhere makes you travel in that direction. That means down as well. When you’re flopping around in the air with no boost waiting to land in order to get back into the play, make sure to aim down. This will make you fall faster, leading to quicker recoveries.
Tip 3: Consider playing with a controller
Mobile gaming is not for everyone, especially when touch screen controls are involved. Luckily, controllers are supported for Rocket League Sideswipe. Don’t let the vocal minority gatekeep your preferred way of playing. If you prefer playing with a controller, you can. Simply link up your controller to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, and it’ll work. The menus are mostly still touch-based, but once you’re in-game, the controller will respond. It will also hide the controls on the UI, leading to a cleaner screen.
ngl @RLSideswipe is the most fun I’ve had in forever 😭 I honestly feel like I felt when I first started playing rocket league and GOD I missed this feeling pic.twitter.com/Y920fhjvGo
Okay, air rolling in Rocket League Sideswipe may not be as useful as in the main game, but it does look fancy. If you want to get a hang of this to impress the newbies, then starting early is your best bet. Air rolling is simple, but not explained in the tutorial: just double-tap and hold the joystick button. This will make your car start twisting even after you land and jump back up. If you want to stop rolling, simply let go of the joystick.
On controller, the button to do this is LB and L1 on Xbox and PlayStation controllers, respectively.
Basic Rocket League Sideswipe tips
When it comes to strategy, just stick to the basics. Don’t ball-chase, don’t over or double-commit and rotate out after you made your play, unless there is a very clear goal-scoring opportunity that you can get to before your teammates and opponents. Also, be careful you don’t take the ball away from your teammate on your way back. It’s a 2D game after all.
If you’re in the back for the kick-off, don’t rush forward immediately. Kick-offs are volatile, especially in the lower ranks of Rocket League Sideswipe. You don’t want to speed forward as the last one back and see the ball fly over your head into your net. However, as you grow in rank, you’ll see kick-offs become more consistent. This is when you can start taking more risks. Oh, and be ready to use that fast aerial button when the ball goes up.
One final Rocket League Sideswipe tip about boost. The game is fairly forgiving for boost usage, as the map is small. Using a good amount of boost to get to the ball is fine, but consider feathering your boost as well, especially when the ball is floating slowly in the air and you have time. You don’t want to overshoot because you’re flying at the ball too fast, or be out of boost for a follow-up after your first touch. Quickly and repeatedly tapping your boost instead of holding it will keep you in the air without sending you forward too fast. This makes flight easier to control and first touches easier to time. As you grow more comfortable with controls in flight, you can start using more boost to increase your overall aerial speed.
Advanced mechanics
Rocket League Sideswipe introduces some new mechanics to the franchise. As discovered by Twitter user AurawraBeam back in the alpha, there are Purple Shots and Gold Shots. The former allows you to shoot with your car’s belly, while the latter lets you shoot with your butt, making you shoot one way, while flipping the other.
Purple Shots can be done simply by double jumping when the ball is close to your belly. Gold Shots can be done by double jumping while aiming in the opposite direction of the ball.
There are various other advanced mechanics, which we’ll go over in a separate article, but start making use of these beginner tips to get a head start.
Two states and one territory were removed from Chicago’s travel advisory Tuesday, bringing the number of states on the city’s warning list to 38 states following the Thanksgiving holiday.
California, Guam, and North Carolina were all removed from the advisory this week, the city’s health department announced, but no new states were added back on.
As of Tuesday, every state or territory except for Alabama, California, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the Virgin Islands are on the advisory.
Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington could be removed from the travel advisory next week if their COVID rates remain below the city’s threshold.
States are added to the advisory’s “orange list” when COVID metrics rise above the threshold of 15 cases per day per 100,000 people. Any below that mark are on the “yellow” list, with public health officials still warning against non-essential travel.
“The best protection you can have against COVID, no matter where you travel or what new variants emerge, is full vaccination, and booster shots for those who are fully vaccinated,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement. “The Midwest is the current COVID hot spot as temperatures drop and people spend more time inside, so please protect yourself and get vaccinated.”
Just before the Labor Day, the city updated its guidance for what unvaccinated travelers visiting or returning from such locations should do, adding new testing and quarantining recommendations before and after travel.
According to the city, before travel, unvaccinated individuals should:
Get tested 3-5 days prior to departure.
While traveling:
ALL individuals regardless of vaccination status should wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.
In Chicago, wear a mask in all indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status.
Avoid crowds, try to stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who is not traveling with you, and wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol).
After travel, unvaccinated individuals should:
Get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel AND stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days.
Even if you test negative, stay home and self-quarantine for the full 7 days.
If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel.
Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.
The city advised all travelers to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and isolate and get tested if they develop any after travel.
“We have seen and know that travel is a significant risk factor for acquiring COVID,” Arwady said. “If you decide not to get tested, the recommendation is actually to stay home and self quarantine for 10 days after travel, and you should avoid being around anybody who has an increased risk for severe COVID outcomes for 14 days after travel regardless of whether you get tested or not. Obviously we want anybody who’s traveling to self monitor for COVID symptoms and get tested if you develop symptoms.”
This week’s update to the travel advisory comes at a time when the average daily number of new cases in Chicago dropped to 493 per day – down 18% from the 599 seen the previous week.
That figure is much higher than the low of 34 the city saw in late June but remains lower than the more than 700 cases per day the city was seeing during the most recent surge earlier this year.
Hospitalizations in Chicago are down 37% from the previous week, and deaths dropped by 84% since last week, per the city’s data. The positivity rate in testing rose to 3.5% this week, up from 3% the week prior.
The travel advisory is updated every Tuesday, with any changes taking effect the following Friday.
AN ex-Disney employee has revealed how to get into the parks ahead of everyone else.
Long queues are inevitable when you go somewhere as popular as the Disney parks, but this tip can help you skip the first queue of the day by getting in early.
2
An ex-Disney employee has revealed how to get into the parks ahead of everyone else
Tiktok user Taylor, who uses the handle @tay_johnston, is an ex-Disney employee and big Disney fan.
She advises visitors to arrive at the parks 45 minutes before they are scheduled to open as they often open early.
That way, you’ll be the first people in the parks and won’t have to queue to get on the first ride of the day.
She says to head straight to the most popular rides as they are the ones that have particularly long wait times so are the best to get done early.
She said: “Last week I went to Disney and all four parks opened 45 minutes early.
“Disney regulars call this ‘rope dropping’ – it’s just when you are among the first group of people to walk into a park on any given day.
“It’s worth is for rides that have historically long wait times, like Splash Mountain, Flight of Passage or Slinky Dog Dash.”
The video has racked up nearly 80,000 views, with some people commenting on how they’ve used the tip.
One person commented: “When I was younger we got there so early we got to open the park and ride two rides before it opened.”
Another person wrote: “I was there last week – can’t believe how early they opened the gates.”
And someone else wrote: “Yes! We love to rope drop!!”
