Short answer:  It’s too early to tell. 

We’ll all been hearing about the Omicron COVID variant that has started circulating – first detected in southern Africa, it has now been detected in small numbers in several other countries, including in Europe / Asia.   It is not unlikely that it will be detected in North and South America in the coming days.  

For the time being, the experts still don’t know if Omicron will pose any greater risk than the current Delta variant, which is the one most in circulation these days.   While it has gathered a large number of mutations, it’s not clear if these will affect its behaviour at this point. 

Some may recall a fairly recent outbreak of a Mu variant, mostly in Colombia and Ecuador.  Like Omicron, it was quickly flagged as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, and some countries imposed additional travel restrictions on people travelling from these countries (quarantine measures).  But within a few weeks, the experts came to the conclusion that the Mu variant did not pose an additional risk and restrictions were lifted. 

At this point, there is no reason to consider changing any travel plans.  However, please do keep yourself updated on the latest information about the Omicron variant, from reliable sources.  The World Health Organization’s latest statement can be found by clicking here.  The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest statement (at time of publication of this news item) can be found.  

It's good to know that just about everyone in Galapagos is fully vaccinated and that infection numbers are very small, making the risk of virus transmission in the islands very low.  

We take this opportunity to strongly urge our guests to be fully vaccinated prior to any travel.  If booster shots are an option where you live, we recommend that these be taken as well.   Similarly, the use of masks in enclosed areas is strongly recommended.  These measures will go a very long way in ensuring a fun, worry free trip. 

Finally, it’s always a good idea to understand the cancellation policies for you trip / review your insurance policy.  CNH Tours recommends that you review them if you are not clear on how they might apply for different scenarios.

 

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