On November 29, passengers checked in at Cape Town International Airport, South Africa. In order to prevent the spread of the new crown variant virus Omicron strain, many countries recently imposed entry restrictions on flights and passengers from African countries such as South Africa, and upgraded prevention and control measures The World Health Organization said on November 29 that the risk of the surge of infection cases caused by the new coronal variant virus Omicron virus strain around the world is "very high" and may bring "serious consequences" to some regions. While scientists are stepping up their research on the Omicron strain, who calls on members to accelerate the vaccination of the new crown as soon as possible. Who said in a document released on the same day that the number of spike protein mutations of Omicron virus strain is unprecedented, and some of them may affect the trend of the epidemic, which is worrying. Although there is "considerable uncertainty" in this mutant strain, preliminary evidence shows that the mutation of this strain may make it have immune escape ability and enhance its transmission ability. "Based on these characteristics, there may be a surge in new crown cases in the future, which may have serious consequences, depending on many factors, including where the surge may occur," the document said. Overall, the risk of its global transmission is assessed as "very high". According to the associated press, this is the strongest warning of the who on the Omicron strain so far. The director general of the World Health Organization, Tak Desai, said: "many of us may think that COVID-19 has handled it almost. It is not finished with us." In November 9th, the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 was first detected in South Africa. In just two weeks, this mutant became the absolute dominant mutant of new crown infection in Gauteng Province, South Africa. On November 26, who named it Omicron strain. To date, who has not received reports of deaths associated with this strain. There is no systematic research data on the transmissibility, pathogenicity, secondary infection risk and immune escape ability of this mutant in the world. In the face of new variants, who once again urged 194 members to accelerate the vaccination of new crown vaccine, especially to improve the vaccination rate of high-risk populations. Richard hachett, CEO of the Alliance for innovation in epidemic prevention, said: "the emergence of the Omicron strain accurately confirms scientists' prediction that accelerating the spread of the virus in areas where vaccines are not easy to obtain will accelerate its evolution." According to the associated press, most of the new crown infections reported so far in South Africa are mild, mostly young people in their twenties and thirties. However, South African experts warned that it was too early to draw a definite conclusion about the Omicron strain based on these data. follow Who special session focuses on new pandemic agreement The special session of the World Health Assembly opened in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 29. The three-day meeting will consider the feasibility of developing a new who agreement on pandemic preparedness and response, aimed at better preventing, assessing, detecting and responding to possible future pandemics. The WHO assembly is usually held in May each year. Because of COVID-19, the World Health Assembly decided in May this year to set up a working group of Member States. In the following months, the independent groups and committees were considered and assessed by the independent groups and committees, and the feasibility report on the new pandemic agreement was submitted at this special meeting. Consideration of this issue so that the relevant drafting and negotiation procedures can be initiated as soon as possible is the only agenda of this special session. In the opening address, director general of the World Health Organization said: "COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated the fundamental weaknesses of the global pandemic prevention and response framework: complex and decentralized governance, insufficient funds, lack of systems and tools." Voluntary mechanisms have failed to address these challenges. The best way we can address these issues is to reach a legally binding agreement between countries. " The special meeting coincided with the recent concern about the new coronal variant virus Omicron strain, which was listed as a variant strain "requiring attention" by the who on the 26th. The who said it was unclear whether the Omicron strain was more transmissible or would lead to more serious diseases than other "need attention" variant strains, including the delta strain. influence Omicron or impact on crude oil demand in Russia: there is no need to adjust production in a hurry Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on November 29 that Russia believes that there is no need for major oil producing countries to urgently adjust their crude oil production strategy due to the spread of the new coronal variant virus Omicron strain. Novak's spokesman said that Russia will have in-depth discussions with other major oil producing countries on the market situation and the measures to be taken in the near future. In order to have more time to assess the impact of Omicron strain on crude oil demand and price, the online meeting of the ministerial joint supervisory committee of non OPEC oil producing countries such as the organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia was postponed from 30 this month to 2 December. The meeting will discuss the crude oil production plan for January next year. Affected by bad news such as the report of Omicron case in South Africa and other countries, investors were worried about the prospect of economic recovery. International oil prices fell sharply on the 26th. The crude oil futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange and London Brent crude oil futures fell by more than 10%. This is the largest one-day decline in these two benchmark oil prices since April 2020. Oil prices rebounded on the 29th, mainly due to bargain hunting after the sharp decline on the 26th and speculation that oil producing countries may suspend production due to the deterioration of the epidemic. Reuters quoted analysts as saying that after the gradual release of crude oil reserves and the new "city closure" measures may affect demand, OPEC and non OPEC oil producing countries may suspend production. (outlook new era)