#Omicron

Oil gains on outlook for rising demand as Omicron wave fades

Crude has enjoyed a robust start to the new year, with prices soaring to the highest since 2014 last week

Crude markets run hot in Asia as Omicron fails to dent demand

Brent futures have soared in the opening weeks of 2022, reflecting the underlying bullishness on display in the physical markets

Oil extends gain after weekly advance on tightening market

Oil has rallied more than 10 per cent so far this year

Oil extends biggest gain this year as Powell sparks broad rally

Oil has roared higher in the opening days of the new year as concerns about the pandemic, especially the impact of the omicron variant, have eased off

Qatar Airways’ route from Doha to Hong Kong put on hold until early January

As per new rules in Hong Kong, if four or more passengers are confirmed to have Covid-19 on arrival from the same place within seven days, that route will be suspended for 14 days

South Africa to stop quarantines as 80% have past infection

The authorities will conduct contact tracing only in case of a cluster outbreak

A health worker holds a vial of Covishield, AstraZeneca's Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine

AstraZeneca Covid booster increases antibodies against omicron – study

A third dose produced higher levels of neutralising antibodies than those found in individuals who had recovered naturally from the alpha, beta and delta strains of Covid-19

Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik vaccines weaker against omicron – study

The new variant, which infects 70 times faster than the deadly delta, spread to some 77 countries in less than one month of being first detected

Saudi Arabia Airport

Saudi advises against ‘unnecessary’ overseas travel over omicron concerns

Travellers were specifically urged to avoid “high-risk countries” where the omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread rapidly

Oil extends losses on omicron spread uncertainty

Oil’s drop this week has eaten into a partial recovery from a bear market at the end of November

Covid-19: Bahrain to move to ‘yellow alert level’ over omicron concerns

The new alert level will be in place from Sunday, December 19, 2021, until Monday, January 31, 2022

Pfizer stops 70% omicron hospitalisations, finds South Africa study

The protection is maintained across age groups and in the face of a range of chronic illnesses

Booster dose vaccine protects against Covid Omicron variant, says Pfizer

On November 25, the companies started to develop an Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccine

UAE: PCR validity on Al Hosn green pass reduced to 14 days from 30

The update comes in consolidation of the proactive measures to enhance the efforts made at the country level as part of the post Covid-19 recovery strategy

UAE detects first case of Covid Omicron variant

It is the second country to detect the new variant after Saudi Arabia in the MENA region

Saudi Arabia reports first case of Omicron virus in the kingdom

It is the first Omicron variant case reported in the Middle East and North Africa

Omicron has reached at least 13 countries despite travel curbs

Researchers worldwide are racing to understand the full impact of the new strain

Etihad Morocco

Etihad to suspend flights between Abu Dhabi and Morocco

The suspension will be effective starting November 30, for a period of two weeks

vfs

Saudi suspends flights to and from seven additional African countries over Omicron

The kingdom has banned flights to and from 14 African countries in total, including Seychelles and Mauritius

Dubai airport

Covid-19: UAE to ban entry from seven countries over Omicron concerns

Flight will however continue to transport passengers from the UAE to these countries