As with all new variants, one of the biggest causes of concern is that it can reduce vaccine effectiveness.

With Omicron, this is particularly worrying because the variant has a large number of mutations. It has 32 mutations in its spike protein which is about double the number that was associated with the Delta variant.

Omicron is also causing major concern because of how fast it is spreading. In fact, it dominated most of the infections in South Africa in less than two weeks after it was first detected. The Delta strain was initially the dominant variant. 

According to WHO, the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms.

“Given the current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs,” said WHO.

That said, there is still very little data and WHO has stressed that it cannot yet confirm if Omicron’s rate of transmission was because it was less prone to immune responses, higher transmissibility or a combination of both.

On November 26, the WHO held a special meeting to discuss the new variant. It decided that Omicron should be considered a Variant of Concern, much like the Alpha and Delta mutations. This is the most worrying category of Covid-19 variants and means that countries need to start taking action. 

So far, the world has been responding swiftly with nations banning flights in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus as well as imposing new restrictions. 

For example, after finding two individuals with the Omicron variant in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the country would be reviewing its highly-anticipated plans to reopen its borders to skilled migrants and students in December.

That said, the WHO has cautioned countries against imposing travel restrictions due to Omicron. Rather, it recommends that governments take a risk-based and scientific approach when considering travel curbs.

So far, Singapore has reported 448 local Omicron Covid-19 cases as of December 25 along with a number of unlinked cases and clusters. 

While the government has so far been able to manage the spread, they are still watching it closely, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a People’s Action Party (PAP) convention on November 28. 

He added that we may have to roll back the easing up of safety measures should Omicron prove to be a problem here. 

“We are tracking this very closely. We are not sure yet, but we may well be forced to take a few steps back again before we can take more steps forward,” he said.

That said, as more information becomes available about Omicron, Singapore has announced that close contacts of Omicron cases will be issued a seven-day health risk warning instead of being quarantined for 10 days. 

People who are vaccinated or below 12 years old will also now be discharged in 10 days while unvaccinated patients will be discharged in 14 days.

People who are physically well but that still test positive will continue to be made to self-test, including using antigen rapid tests (ART), in order to discharge from the third day onwards.

Additionally, from December 27, Omicron cases will be allowed to recover under the home recovery programme, or be managed at community care facilities and hospitals, instead of being isolated at dedicated facilities.

“The adjustments in our approach for managing local Omicron cases will allow us to focus our healthcare resources on severe cases and protecting the vulnerable settings,” said MOH on December 26.

“Locally, our Omicron cases have so far not been severe as well. None has required intensive care or oxygen supplementation, although this may be partially due to most cases being fully vaccinated and from younger age groups,” MOH continued.

However, Singapore is still taking all precautions and has announced a series of measures on travellers coming into the country to prevent the spread including suspending ticket sales for VTL flights and buses for inbound travel between December 23 and January 20.

Currently, all travellers that have already secured tickets and who are entering Singapore from Malaysia through the land vaccinated travel lane (VTL) are required to take an on-arrival antigen rapid test (ART), according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry on November 28. They will also need to do a supervised Antigen Rapid Test (ART) on days three and seven of their stay in Singapore as well as unsupervised ART tests on days two, four, five and six of their stay. 

“The on-arrival ART will allow us to reduce the risks of spread of B.1.1.529 to Singapore, and enable us to progressively expand the land VTL in a safe and calibrated manner,” said the ministry.

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Additionally, Singapore has decided to delay its VTL arrangements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to prevent the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant. The VTL was originally set to launch on December 6. 

“This is in view of their proximity as transport nodes to the affected countries of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe,” the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a news release on November 28.

Singapore has also restricted entry to travellers with recent travel history to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Now, we simply have to wait till more information is found out about the variant and to follow all protocols while mentally preparing ourselves for some setbacks in our fight against the pandemic. 

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