Dutch health authorities say they've identified early cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus — including one from a sample taken the week before South Africa raised the alarm about the mutated variant. Other cases were found through tests at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in August. He called on Western nations on Sunday to scrap travel restrictions placed on southern Africa to stem the spread of the omicron variant. "The prohibition of travel is not informed by science nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant," he said. Tobias Schwarz/Reuters hide caption
A man receives a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Soweto, South Africa. The omicron variant of the coronavirus, first identified in South Africa, has now spread to at least a dozen other countries. On Friday, scientists presented evidence that the variant spreads twice as fast as the delta variant. Denis Farrell/AP hide caption
A healthcare worker inoculates 59 year-old Raymon Diaz with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign as part of the "Noche de San Juan" festivities in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Carlos Giusti/AP hide caption
People line up to get on the Air France flight to Paris at OR Tambo's airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday. The United States, Israel and other European nations have already imposed travel restrictions on South Africa and other nations in the region. Jerome Delay/AP hide caption
President Biden speaks to media as he arrives on Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Sunday after returning from Nantucket, Mass., after spending the Thanksgiving holiday there. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
Following the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant, the United Kingdom imposed new restrictions on arriving travelers from South Africa and other southern African countries. The U.S. is implementing similar restrictions starting Monday. Hollie Adams/Getty Images hide caption
On November 29, the World Health Organization will convene a virtual summit for its member states to consider the handling of future outbreaks. Pictured above: WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption
People line up to get on an Air France flight to Paris at OR Tambo's airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday as several countries announced travel bans in response to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Jerome Delay/AP hide caption
A young woman reacts as she receives a Pfizer jab against COVID-19, in Diepsloot Township near Johannesburg Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. Denis Farrell/AP hide caption
James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive through Matera, Italy in No Time To Die. A scientific review of Bond's decades of international adventures concludes that the famous secret agent has consistently neglected critical travel health precautions. Nicola Dove/DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM hide caption
Thanksgiving is a day at the beach — quite literally — for young Liberians. Above, the beach in West Point is a sandy playing field for soccer lovers. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
Nyayua Thang, 62, left, stands waist-deep in the floodwaters in front of an abandoned primary school in South Sudan. Members of her village, displaced by extreme flooding as a result of heavy rainfall, are using the building as a refuge. Only small mud dikes at the entrance of the door are keeping the water out. (November 2020) Peter Caton for Action Against Hunger hide caption
Two boys stand at the edge of the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in July. A recent study finds that globally, boys and young men made up two-thirds of all deaths among young people in 2019. Kazi Salahuddin Razu/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption