Wary, weary world slams doors shut in face of new variant

By RAF CASERT and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Nations around the world sought to keep the new omicron variant at bay with travel bans and further restrictions, even as it remains unclear what it means for the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan announced Monday it would suspend entry of all foreign visitors. New cases of the variant identified days ago by researchers in South Africa appeared as far apart as Hong Kong, Australia and Portugal. Portuguese authorities were investigating whether some of the infections there could be among the first reported cases of local transmission of the variant outside of southern Africa. The stream of new cases showed the near impossibility of keeping the genie in the bottle in a globalized world of travel and open borders.