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A new, highly infectious Covid-19 variant in South Africa has sparked worldwide airport restrictions.

The World Health Organization has designated the new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 and named it Omicron on Friday.

Multiple countries halted airline travel to and from South Africa on Friday.


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Cases have also been reported in Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel, and Belgium.

The WHO calls Omicron a “variant of concern” because it has a large number of spike mutations and is 40% more infectious than previous variants.

The news sent Wall Street stocks plunging and the DOW dropped 900 points on Friday.

The new variant comes amid reports that health officials are “baffled” by the low incidences of Covid-19 in Africa where the vaccination rate is just 6 percent.

Pfizer announced on Friday it is testing “existing vaccines” on the new variant and results are expected within 2 weeks.


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Dr. Anthony Fauci told “CNN New Day” on Friday there is “no indication” this variant is currently in the US. But Fauci claims the new variant is highest among young people in South Africa.

However, blue check marks on Twitter are suspicious of the new variant coming on the heels of Big Pharma’s push for vaccine booster shots among young people.