China's President Xi promises Africa a billion Covid vaccine doses

Leader says 400 million will be provided from other sources

Indian students apply the finishing touches to paintings created to raise awareness of the variant in Mumbai. Reuters

International travellers wearing personal protective equipment arrive at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport as Australia records its first cases of the Omicron variant. AFP

A greeting at the international terminal of Sydney Airport, as countries respond to the new variant. Reuters

A sign asking people to wear face coverings in a building in Manhattan as the newly discovered Omicron variant appears in countries around the world. AFP

Tourists wave as the ‘Europa’ passenger liner arrives in South African waters off Cape Town as the new coronavirus variant Omicron spreads in other countries. Reuters

Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Dutch health authorities said they have found another case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant among passengers arriving from South Africa, bringing the country’s total to 14. AFP

Pupils wear face masks in Beijing. Despite the global worry, scientists say it remains unclear whether the Omicron variant is more dangerous than other strains of the virus. AP

People wearing face masks in Manhattan. New York's governor has declared a state of emergency due to the risk of a surge of Covid-19 cases as winter sets in. AFP

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid meets a member of staff at a vaccine centre in Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London. Getty Images

A sign points the way to a Covid-19 test centre at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. AFP

Narita International Airport in Japan is quiet after travel was restricted to prevent the spread of Omicron. Reuters

A PCR test at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. AFP

Soekarno Hatta International airport. Indonesia has banned the arrival of travellers who have recently been in eight southern African countries. Reuters

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok after Thailand banned entry from eight southern African countries due to the Omicron variant. Reuters

Travellers wear personal protective equipment outside the international terminal at Sydney Airport, Australia. Reuters

Passengers wearing protective gear at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, where health authorities have imposed an entry ban on foreign arrivals from eight African countries, including South Africa. EPA

Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. The Israeli government approved a 14-day ban on foreign arrivals over concerns about Omicron. EPA

Travellers queuing in the hope of boarding an overbooked Lufthansa flight at Cape Town International Airport. Antonie Robertson / The National

Covid-stricken Czech President Milos Zeman sits in a plastic cage as he appoints Petr Fiala as Prime Minister, near Prague. AFP

Tourists checking in at Cape Town International Airport in South Africa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Several airlines have stopped flying out of South Africa amid the spread of the new variant, causing disruption at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Reuters

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Two cases of the recently discovered Omicron variant were detected in New South Wales. EPA

Passengers, many not wearing face coverings, on the London Underground. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said mandatory mask-wearing would return to shops and public transport in England but there are concerns over how the rule will be enforced. AFP

A stroll, with face masks, in Biarritz, south-western France. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said France had no confirmed cases of the Omicron variant and was not changing its strategy of increasing vaccinations and booster shots. AP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty during a press conference on the variant in London. Reuters

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China has promised one billion coronavirus vaccine doses to African countries.

Africa is the least vaccinated continent, with most of its 54 countries having a vaccination rate of less than 10 per cent.

In a speech made by video link to a China-Africa summit being held near Senegal's capital Dakar on Monday, President Xi Jinping said his country would donate 600 million doses directly to help boost vaccination across the continent.

Mr Xi said a further 400 million doses would be provided from other sources, such as investments and production sites, Reuters reported.

India is ready to “expeditiously” send more vaccines to Africa, New Delhi said late on Monday after China's pledge.

China is the African continent's largest trading partner, with direct trade worth more than $200 billion in 2019, according to the Chinese embassy in Dakar.

Beijing has also donated millions of doses of its home-produced Sinopharm vaccine to poor African countries since the start of the pandemic.

"We must continue to fight together against Covid," Mr Xi told the summit. He added that China would send about 1,500 medical workers to Africa.

"We must prioritise the protection of our people and close the vaccination gap."

Vaccination rates in Africa are low compared to the rest of the world, with many states at the mercy of foreign donations owing to the lack of local production facilities and the prohibitive costs of mass purchases.

The summit in Senegal follows a visit this month by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal, against a backdrop of a growing rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

Mr Blinken discussed boosting local vaccine-production sites with leaders during the visit, and alluded to the sometimes fraught nature of the continent's deep relationship with China.

Last month, US President Joe Biden also announced vaccine donations to Africa, pledging 17 million doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union.