December 1 Omicron coronavirus variant news

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that it is time to "potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union" and have a discussion about the measure.

When asked during a news conference about her position on mandatory vaccination following Greece's decision to impose a roughly $113 fine on people over 60 years old who remain unvaccinated by mid-January, von der Leyen said it is "pure member state competence. Therefore, in respect to that, it's not me to give any kind of recommendation."

“If you're asking me what my personal position is? Two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now, that we have this horrible pandemic, we have the vaccines, the life saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere," she said.

“And thus, these costs, of course, an enormous, or this is an enormous health cost coming along," she continued.

“If you look at the numbers we have now 77% of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it's 66%. And this means 1/3 of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people. This is a lot," von der Leyen noted.

She went on to outline her position on vaccination mandates, saying, “Not each and everyone can be vaccinated, so there are very small children, for example, or people with special medical conditions, but the vast majority could."

Three major US airlines told CNN Wednesday they are complying with a new federal directive that requires airlines to turn over contact information on passengers who were recently in certain African countries.  

The carriers are Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines.  

Delta Air Lines flies several flights every week from Johannesburg, South Africa, into Atlanta. The airline said in a statement to CNN it is “in close coordination with public health bodies and industry regulators in our shared mission to keep the safety and health of customers our top priority.”  

United flies between Johannesburg and Newark.  

American has extended its flexibility policies to accommodate passengers who would have been flying from southern African countries into the US to rearrange their flights.  

About the directive: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directive involves foreign nationals from eight countries including South Africa and was issued in response to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CNN on Wednesday that officials have directed airlines carrying passengers that have been to certain southern African nations to share those passengers' contact information with the agency. 

Airlines and aircraft operators are directed to transmit passenger information as required under the CDC's Contact Information Collection Order, which was issued in late October, if information is not already being transmitted through established US Department of Homeland Security data systems. 

This post has been updated with new details from the CDC.

South Korea will mandate a 10-day quarantine for all incoming international travelers, including Korean nationals. The requirement will go into effect Dec. 3 for two weeks, Korea Disease Control and Prevention (KDCA) said in a statement Wednesday.

The decision was made the same day five cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant were reported by the country, in travelers arriving from Nigeria. 

The mandate applies to travelers from all countries, regardless of their vaccination status, KDCA said.

Korean nationals and foreigners on a long-term stay can quarantine from home, while foreigners staying less than 90 days must quarantine at a government-designated facility. Quarantine exemptions will only be granted in a limited set of special circumstances, such as attending a funeral, the statement said. 

South Korea will also ban foreign nationals on short-term stays — less than 90 days — from Nigeria from entering the country starting Friday.

On Saturday, South Korea had banned foreign nationals on short-term stays from eight southern African countries: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi and Mozambique. Korean citizens and foreigners on long-term stay may still enter the country. 

Starting Saturday, South Korea will also suspend direct flights from Ethiopia for two weeks. The government will arrange non-scheduled flights for Korean nationals to return from African countries, KDCA added.

Roger Dow, CEO of the US Travel Association, is questioning the logic of President Biden’s travel restrictions imposed on South Africa and seven neighboring countries in the wake of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Dow, whose trade group represents all parts of the $1.5 trillion travel industry, said he met multiple times with the White House over the weekend and is very encouraged Biden signaled he’s not anticipating further restrictions.

“Even the WHO came out and said the data and science don’t support this,” he said. “We don’t want to see this go beyond South Africa.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the World Health Organization said “blanket travel banks will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.”

Dow, whose industry relies on a steady stream of foreign tourists, expressed confidence in the existing health protocols to come into the United States, including requirements that visitors are vaccinated and get tested for Covid-19 in advance.

Some background: On Monday, the United States banned all travel from South Africa and seven neighboring countries, with the exception of US citizens and legal permanent residents, who must test negative to enter the country.

Top US officials are considering new restrictions, including requiring everyone who enters the country to be tested for Covid-19 the day before their flight and having all travelers – including US citizens and permanent residents – be tested again after returning home, regardless of vaccination status, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

Dow acknowledged the serious health challenge facing the United States, but suggested it shouldn’t overshadow other priorities. Direct travel employment fell by 34% last year amid the pandemic, according to the US Travel Association. 

“We’ve got a health crisis, no doubt about it. But we’ve got a jobs crisis, an economic crisis, a mental health crisis and a diplomatic crisis,” he said.

Dow argued having more foreign tourists would improve America’s standing in the world. “Getting people here, traveling back and forth, is good public diplomacy,” he said.

Cuban scientists are working on vaccines to combat the Omicron variant, the island’s state-run media reported on Wednesday. 

Cuban pharmaceutical companies have already produced several vaccines scientists say are highly effective against earlier strains of the coronavirus. According to Cuba’s health ministry more than 80% of the island’s population is now fully vaccinated and coronavirus-related infections and deaths have plummeted in recent weeks.

Ireland has reported its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant, a statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team said Wednesday. 

The statement said the case is linked to travel from one of the seven southern African countries that Ireland has imposed travel restrictions on.

At Lancet Laboratories in South Africa, scientists and pathologists first noticed an anomaly in positive PCR tests in early November, and it cropped up over and over again.

"It was a bit disturbing, because it made us worry that we were dealing with something new," Allison Glass, a pathologist at Lancet Labs, told CNN's David McKenzie.

They urgently notified South Africa's genomics team. Within days, details about the new Omicron coronavirus variant became known worldwide.

Scientists inside the Wits VIDA Research Unit in South Africa are trying to determine whether the variant is more transmissible or causes more severe disease.

Samples are being put in freezers in the hallways at the lab, and it is set to operate 24 hours a day, McKenzie reported.

Jeanine du Plessis, a medical scientist at the lab, said they are seeing a lot more positive cases in the past few weeks.

Since there is still so much unknown about the variant at the moment, she said "everyone feels a little bit of hopelessness."

Watch:

Top US government officials are considering requiring everyone who enters the country to be tested for Covid-19 the day before their flight and having all travelers — including US citizens and permanent residents — be tested again after returning home, regardless of vaccination status, sources familiar with the discussions have told CNN.

Officials were deliberating the potential changes Tuesday night and no final decisions have been made.

However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in a statement that the agency is working to revise testing requirements for travelers because of the new Omicron variant.

Currently, vaccinated travelers are required to test three days before their departures. The move under consideration would shorten that timeline to one day.

A mandatory quarantine for US citizens returning home is not under consideration, according to a White House official.

"The administration continues to evaluate the appropriate measures to protect the American people from COVID-19, especially as we learn more about the Omicron variant, including considering more stringent testing requirements for international travel. Policy discussions are ongoing across the government and no final decisions have been made," a White House official told CNN.

You can read more on the possible changes here.