Coronavirus live updates: Karnataka says sample of SA returnee 'different from Delta'

Arrivals from three Omicron hotspots — South Africa, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong — will be required to wait at the airport for their test report and only those found negative will be allowed to leave, say sources. Those testing positive will be sent to designated Covid centres. Arrivals from other at risk countries will be allowed to leave after their sample and the result will be conveyed to them electronically, with the same protocol for those testing positive or negative.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior halted flights from and to Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, Angola, Seychelles, Mauritius and the Comoros Islands on Sunday owing to concerns related to the spread of the new COVID-19 strain, state news agency SPA reported on Twitter.

In order to prevent spread of Omicron variant, Israel has closed its borders to all foreigners. "The entry of foreign nationals into Israel is banned except for cases approved by a special committee," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement. The order will come into effect from Sunday evening. Israeli citizens will be required to present a negative PCR test and quarantine themselves for three days if they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus and seven days if they have not. It was only four weeks ago that Israel had reopened its borders to foreign tourists.​

Singapore is tracking the emerging Omicron Covid-19 variant “very closely” and could be forced to take a few steps back again before moving ahead with easing of safety measures and opening up the economy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday. On Friday, Singapore also said it will restrict entry to travellers with recent travel history to seven African countries following the emergence of the new variant in that region.

Health officials said Sunday they had detected the Covid Omicron strain in Australia for the first time after testing two passengers from southern Africa who flew into Sydney. The eastern state of New South Wales' health authority said it had conducted urgent genomic testing and confirmed the new strain was present in two passengers who arrived Saturday in Sydney.