reporter: more than 30 mutations say scientists, in the spike protein alone. it s a worrying sign. scientists are working in labs like this one in south africa scrambling to confirm if the variant evades immunity from previous infections or crucially, if it weakens vaccine efficacy. definitive answers could take weeks. we think it may be a more times admissible virus and it may have some immune escape. now, we don t know for sure but that s what it looks like. the european commission has proposed to member states to activate the emergency break from travel to countries. reporter: the world is shutting its doors, countries all across the globe rapidly banning travelers from parts of frick ka, they say, to curb the spread of the variant.
Refer to united states residents. united, the only other major airline to operate from the region, the airport group says it has many unanswered questions about the new measures. and sweeping travel restrictions are going in effect in israel. an expert says that israel is now on the state of emergency as confirming its first omicron variant case. hamas gold reports. reporter: the government acting quickly. the person returned from malawi, the variant detected because earn person to tel aviv must get a pcr test before they can leave the airport. health officials say people with suspected cases are vaccinated and symptoms all mild. although a very small sample size. now, the israeli government is laying down sweeping new travel