Page 25 - Julia Macfarlane News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: especially for those who are still unvaccinated. we're anticipating the president will announce new steps to try to stop the spread of omicron. today, dr. anthony fauci saying he doesn't anticipate any new lockdowns, but he is warning of a significant strain on the nation's health care system. and here in new york city, the mayor saying he'll make a decision by christmas about whether the new year's eve ball drop in times square will go on as planned. >> janai, thank you. and now to the world health organization announcing that omicron has been detected in at least 89 countries....

Racing to understand the new variant and try to contain its spread. several european nations are already seeing cases including at least 13 passengers arriving in the netherlands from south africa all now under mandatory quarantine. israel closing its borders to foreign nationals. morocco banning foreign flights and the uk imposing new restrictions. abc's julia macfarlane is in london. >> reporter: tonight, world leaders rushing to get ahead of the new variant. >> we take this omicron variant very serious, and we know that we are now in a race against time. >> reporter: like the u.s., more cou...

The w.h.o. is out today with a statement saying it stands with african nations in calling for borders to stay open? >> reporter: yeah, that's right, linsey, the w.h.o. says countries like south africa who are sharing their public health data must be supported if we are all to win the fight against covid-19. meanwhile, here in the uk officials are calling for an urgent meeting of the g7 tomorrow. linsey. >> julia, thank you. we know many of you have a lot of questions about this new variant, so let's bring in dr. ashish jha, dean of the brown university school of public health, and, dr. jha, ...

Isolation rules for anyone in contact with positive cases. travel from south africa linked to more than a dozen omicron cases on board two klm flights to amsterdam. those travelers now in isolation. >> it's now 5:00 at the airport. >> reporter: paula zimmerman had to wait 18 hours at the airport until tests came back negative. >> i had a really great trip seeing, you know, family and friends and visiting wonderful south africa. in retrospect maybe it would have been wiser not to go. >> reporter: south africa tonight hitting back at the travel bans saying it should be applauded for its science ...

For many, the trial and the reaction from Republicans serve as another indication of racial divisions that exist across the country.