Omicron: Wetin you need to sabi about di new coronavirus variant wey dey make di World Health Organisation get 'concern'

Scientist say dem identify one new coronavirus variant strain wey make dem worry wella sake of say dem dey fear say di current vaccines wey dey ground no go work.

Even di World Health Organization (WHO) declare say di new variant get as e be "of concern" and dem done name am Omicron.

Dem first report am to di WHO from South Africa on 24 November, and dem don also see am for Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.

Dem say di variant get plenti numba of mutations, and early evidence dey suggest possible increase risk of reinfection.

Na so plenti kontris don ban travel from southern Africa on Thursday.

UK, US, EU kontris and Switzerland don press pause on flights from some southern African kontris like South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini.

Why WHO dey concerned

E no dey uncommon for virus to change, or mutate, ova time. Variant fit become sometin to worry wen dat mutation fit affect tins like transmissibility, virulence or di effectiveness of vaccines.

For statement on Friday di WHO tok say di number of cases of dis variant, wey dem bin first name B.1.1.529, be like say e dey rise wella across South Africa.

Di WHO don tok e go take some weeks to understand di impact of di new variant, as scientists dey work to know how e dey transmit.

Dem follow warn sake make kontris no rush to do travel restrictions.

Prof Tulio de Oliveira, di director of di Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation for South Africa, say e get how dis new variant "dey unusually develop" and e dey "veri different" to oda variants wey don circulate.

For one media briefing, e say di new variant get 50 mutations overall and di spike protein pass 30.

30 na di target protein spike of most vaccines and di key wey di virus dey use to unlock di doorway into di bodi cells.

Wetin dey worry be say dis virus dey radically different to di original wey comot from Wuhan, China. Dis one mean say di vaccines, wey dem design using di original strain, fit no work.

South Africa health minister vex about travel bans

South Africans dey fear wetin go be di impact of new variant and di measures wey kontris don dey take.

South Africa health minister, Joe Phaahla, don condemn di travel restrictions wey dey imposed against di kontri afta dem discover di new coronavirus variant.

Phaahla say di introduction of travel restrictions by some kontris dey completely against the norms and standards" wey di WHO set.

"We wan reassure South Africans say some of di reaction dey unjustified," Phaahla tok.

E add say foreign scientists neva present any evidence say di new variant get di capacity to evade protection wey di current vaccines dey give, but e gree say early signs dey suggest say e dey more transmissible.

Stock markets across di world also fall sharply on Friday, as e dey show how investors dey fear di potential economic impact.