Governor McKee Says Existing Tools Give Him Ability to Address Omicron
Saturday, November 27, 2021
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee says the emergency order already in place to battle the pandemic — which was initially issued by former Governor Gina Raimondo in the spring of 2020 — gives him the necessary powers to address the Omicron variant.
Globally, public health experts have raised significant concerns and travel restrictions have been put in place due to the fast-moving strain first detected in South Africa.
“Rhode Island currently has an active COVID-19 Executive Order. Due to high vaccination rates, additional hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients is not needed at this time. Further actions will be considered as we work closely with the Department of Health and communicate with Federal partners,” said McKee's office on Saturday.
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Global Concerns Growing
Euronews is reporting that Omicron has now been detected in a number of countries.
"The UK reported two confirmed cases that Health Secretary Sajid Javid said were 'linked and there is a connection with travel to southern Africa,'" reported Euronews.
The infections of the new variant, which preliminary evidence suggests might be highly transmissible and more resistant to current treatment, including vaccines, prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tighten entry requirements.
"'We're not going to stop people traveling but will require anyone who enter the UK to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after their arrival and to self-isolate until they have a negative result,' Johnson said during a press conference on Saturday afternoon," according to Euronews.
Times of Israel is reporting that one top health advisor to the South African government says the response is overblown.
Virologist Barry Schoub, the head of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines, told Israel’s Channel 12 news that based on initial data from cases in South Africa, it seemed the vaccine would still protect most people from severe COVID-19," reports the Times and Israel.
“'I think what we can be pretty comfortable… that the vaccine will still prevent serious disease,' he said. 'That I think we are pretty sure about. How effective it will be in preventing milder disease — that we’ve still got to understand,'” according to the Times.
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