Still reeling from the impact of the delta variant, Turkey is now faced with the risk of a new variant of coronavirus, omicron, making waves across the world. The variant, which has countries scrambling to implement new measures, has not been reported in the country yet but the danger is not over. The variant, more threatening than earlier incarnations of mutating virus according to experts, may still emerge in the country, as was the case with delta and delta plus.

The only measures the country can take now, as others did, is banning flights to and from countries with reported omicron cases. Experts say this is all the country can do now but warn the public to stick to existing measures, such as keeping social distancing, wearing protective masks and heeding overall hygiene rules, just as people should do against other variants of the deadly infection.

Professor Serhat Ünal, a member of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, which advises the government on measures against the pandemic, says the same rules apply in the country against the new variant and it was "the right decision" to suspend flights from countries where the variant was first identified.

"The most important measures are masks, social distancing and hygiene, along with vaccination," he told the Sabah newspaper on Monday. Inoculation is essential for the country of more than 83 million people. A vaccination program is already underway, with more than 120 million doses administered so far. More than 50 million people were given two doses of vaccine, necessary to ensure the minimum amount of protection against the virus. Ünal said omicron was a variant of concern for the World Health Organization (WHO).

"As a matter of fact, viruses do not multiply if one person does not infect another. Without multiplication, it won't be able to mutate and create new variants," he said, calling on people to stay away from potential sources of infection, like crowded venues where people do not heed pandemic rules.

"Omicron forces us to be more alert as it enters the cells faster and sticks there longer. We don't have any other measure other than flight restrictions. If we adhere to current measures, there won't be need for further restrictions. People should get vaccinated as soon as possible and stay away from crowds," he warned.

Ünal said potential future measures may include asking for vaccine certificates from people suspected of having contracted omicron while in other countries and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. "The Netherlands, for instance, was able to detect omicron cases thanks to scanning people (against the variant)," he noted.

Ünal added that there was no concrete data on whether the currently available vaccines can protect against the new variant. Turkey offers the inactive CoronaVac jab from China's Sinovac and Pfizer-BioNTech's messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine to its citizens. An emergency use approval is also pending for Turkovac, a locally-made inactive vaccine. Ünal said a new vaccine may be needed if omicron is resistant to existing ones or booster shots from current vaccines may be necessary.

Professor Sema Turan, another member of the board, told Sabah that they were working to keep omicron away from Turkey. "We need to be more careful as omicron can replicate itself faster. Turkey already has measures in place. We hope omicron will not come here but there is always a possibility. We are prepared to respond, in terms of possible burdens on hospitals and intensive care units," she said.

Turan urged the public to take extra personal measures apart from existing ones as the country was approaching the winter months where protection against the virus will be more difficult. "People should especially be vigilant to keep their masks on and should avoid from crowded, enclosed spaces," she warned.