{"id":555862,"date":"2021-11-30T04:02:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T04:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/11\/30\/this-morning-the-world-isnt-sure-what-to-make-of-omicron-no-pre-umrah-quarantine-for-people-with-approved-jabs\/"},"modified":"2021-11-30T04:02:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T04:02:28","slug":"this-morning-the-world-isnt-sure-what-to-make-of-omicron-no-pre-umrah-quarantine-for-people-with-approved-jabs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/11\/30\/this-morning-the-world-isnt-sure-what-to-make-of-omicron-no-pre-umrah-quarantine-for-people-with-approved-jabs\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: The world isn\u2019t sure what to make of Omicron; No pre-Umrah quarantine for people with approved jabs."},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends, and welcome to the last day of November. <\/strong>We hope the penultimate month of the year has been kind to you \u2014 and that you\u2019re looking forward to the end of 2021 as much as we are. The past eleven months (heck, the past 91 weeks\u2026) have, in news terms, been like drinking from a firehose.<\/p>\n

Because there is often no justice in the world: <\/strong>Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah came in seventh in voting for France Football\u2019s 2021 Ballon d\u2019Or<\/a>. The closely watched vote on the best men\u2019s football player in the world saw Lionel Messi take the top spot, while Salah (with 121 votes) came in behind Cristiano Ronaldo (178) and ahead of #8 Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City (73 votes). The France Football poll is voted on by sports journalists from around the world; Salah is the top goal-scorer this season in the English Premier League.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PSA #1- It looks like we\u2019re starting the final day of this heat wave<\/strong>, with the mercury due to ease to 29\u00b0C today. Let\u2019s hope the falling temperature takes with it the pollution that has blanketed our fair city since the start of the week. Look for daytime highs of 22\u00b0C from Wednesday through to the end of next week, our favourite weather app tells us.<\/p>\n

PSA #2- A reminder<\/strong> that you won\u2019t be able to get into a bank, post office branch or government facility from Wednesday onward without proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test. Unvaccinated students will also be prevented from accessing university campuses.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> OMICRON WATCH- Biden is trying to un-break the glass:<\/strong> The US president yesterday tried to temper fears of the new covid variant, telling the country that the mutation is a \u201ccause for concern, not a cause for panic.\u201d (Politico<\/a> | NYT<\/a> | AP<\/a>)<\/p>\n

A new warning from the WHO might make his job harder:<\/strong> The World Health Organization is warning that the threat posed by the Omicron covid variant is \u201cvery high\u201d and that the mutation could have \u201csevere consequences\u201d if it spreads. (AP<\/a> | Reuters<\/a> | Washington Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n

As is Fed chief Jerome Powell<\/strong>, who will today warn US lawmakers that the new variant poses a major threat to the American economy. \u201cThe recent rise in covid-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,\u201d he will tell the Senate banking committee. (Bloomberg<\/a> | CNN<\/a> | WSJ<\/a>)<\/p>\n

TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, but \u2026 the doc who first alerted authorities to Omicron thinks <\/strong>the bug may be a \u201cmild\u201d strain<\/a><\/strong> based on the symptoms she is seeing her patients.<\/p>\n

That emergency G7 meeting yesterday doesn\u2019t seem to have achieved much:<\/strong> No new vaccine commitments to the developing world, no containment strategy. There are some words in the joint statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t say the same thing about China<\/strong>, which yesterday pledged to donate another 1 bn vaccines to Africa to help it fight the virus. (AFP<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Still: Volatility in global markets eased yesterday<\/strong> as investor concerns about the economic consequences of Omicron seemed to ease. Stocks in Europe, the US and the Middle East all rebounded following last week\u2019s sell-off, while oil prices steadied from the 11% plunge on Friday.<\/p>\n

Asian markets are continuing where the US left off this morning<\/strong>, with stocks across the region in the green. Shares in the US and Europe will see early gains when the markets open later today, according to the futures markets.<\/p>\n

ALSO MAKING NEWS ABROAD-<\/strong> Jack Dorsey has stepped down as the head of Twitter and is being replaced by CTO Parag Agrawal. Jack is complicated, and the share has underperformed relative to its tech peers. But still: Investors <\/strong>booting out a founder<\/a><\/strong> feels an awful lot like the state taking away your kid. <\/strong>The global press is all over this: Bloomberg<\/a> | CNBC<\/a> | FT<\/a> | BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

You won\u2019t need to quarantine before Umrah if your jab is Saudi-approved: <\/strong>Travelers from Egypt who are fully vaccinated with a Saudi-approved vaccine can begin their pilgrimage right away without needing to quarantine, the Saudi Embassy in Cairo<\/a> said. The kingdom-approved vaccines<\/a> are the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and J&J jabs. Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines \u2014 which are cleared by the WHO \u2014 are only approved for entry into Saudi if you\u2019ve had a booster shot. Travelers who haven\u2019t received boosters for Sinopharm or Sinovac will need to quarantine for three days and present a negative PCR test after 48 hours.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s KfW<\/strong> Development Bank is launching today its open call for <\/strong>(largely green)<\/strong> project <\/strong>proposals in Egypt as <\/strong>part of their <\/strong>investing for employment facility (pdf)<\/a><\/strong>, which will give grants to projects that drive job creation. You can learn how to apply here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>Egypt Defense Expo (EDEX)<\/a><\/strong> continues today<\/strong> and runs until this Thursday, 2 December. Some 400 international manufacturers and suppliers are showcasing military equipment and defense technologies at New Cairo\u2019s International Exhibition Center.<\/p>\n

<\/a> TOMORROW- <\/strong>It\u2019s a new month.<\/strong> The key news triggers to keep your eye on at the start of December:<\/p>\n