Omicron poses potential economic threat, as world reacts to new Covid variant

The emergence of a new variant of Covid-19 in southern Africa sent oil prices tumbling and prompted governments around the world to block flights to the region, potentially causing fresh headaches for project development. It will be some weeks before the Omicron variant’s impact becomes clear, but the episode show how any recovery from the pandemic can be quickly derailed and the need for an accelerated vaccination programme around Africa, writes Dominic Dudley.