Europe's Christmas is very likely to be threatened by Omicron

A recent surge in confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in London, England and Denmark has heightened scientists ' concerns. Although travel bans have been implemented in many countries , people are still worried about new lockdowns before the holidays .

The new coronavirus variant has now been found in at least 45 countries around the world , with some new cases reported in the United States and much of Europe in recent days.

It is understood that on Sunday, the British Health Security Agency confirmed that 246 patients infected with the mutant virus have been found . In Denmark, local health authorities confirmed 183 cases , and these figures are "worrying."

“We’re going to see a lot of big data in the next few weeks from countries around the world,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “This virus is acting like a highly transmissible respiratory virus.”

Early evidence suggests the virus may spread faster than the Delta variant . “Once you find someone who is infected,” “and then you start looking at their contacts or their environment, you find more.”

Dr. Peter O. Omicron, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine , said the number of known Omicron cases is so small that it's hard to know how big the increase is in the U.K. and Denmark. He said a few hundred cases is still "a very small fraction" of the roughly 44,000 new coronavirus cases that occur each day on average in the U.K.

Even before the new variant was discovered, some public health experts were warning that travel restrictions across much of Europe — some of which were put in place to combat Omicron — would not be enough to stop the surge in coronavirus cases that has already occurred.

Some lamented what they said was the price of the country letting down its guard, criticizing the failure to reimpose restrictions such as mask-wearing and social distancing indoors and reminding people to quarantine if exposed to the virus.

Omicron cases are also seen growing in parts of the U.S. The variant has been found in at least 16 states , and Americans are starting to get more nervous.

The Omicron virus was first detected in southern Africa in late November, with Zambia joining South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria and Ghana as the latest African countries to report cases.

Since its emergence, many travel restrictions have been implemented, including in the United States and Europe, to try to slow its spread.

Still, some European governments have been reluctant to impose sweeping domestic curbs on travel and large gatherings ahead of a holiday, with many remaining focused on limiting trips abroad or requiring more testing for travelers.

So far, the British government has told the public to go ahead with their holiday plans as usual, although it has urged people to get booster shots. British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab called it the "strongest defence" in an interview with the BBC on Sunday. "Our message is: enjoy Christmas this year," he said. "The vaccine rollout means we have the ability to do that."

The head of Denmark's public health agency , Henrik Ullum, said he now expected the variant to spread locally, given that 183 people had tested positive.

European countries have taken steps in recent days to curb social contact amid an overall surge in cases. Belgium asked people to work from home and ordered schools to close a week early for Christmas; Italy banned unvaccinated people from participating in certain leisure activities; Ireland has closed nightclubs and restricted gatherings. Therefore, the Omicron strain may be a threat to Christmas in Europe this year.

Germany, which has banned unvaccinated people from much of public life and has been hesitant to impose government orders around the pandemic in a sign of the severity of the situation, plans to make vaccinations mandatory next year.

Some countries have seen resistance to restrictions. In Austria, tens of thousands of people marched for the second consecutive weekend on Saturday to protest the government's decision to impose a strict new lockdown and its vaccine authorization plans.

Michael Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's emergencies program, said at a news conference last week that European countries should take more precautions this fall to protect their people.

European epidemic

Christmas is affected