The UK government has imposed temporary travel restrictions on six African countries following the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant in South Africa.
A new variant of the coronavirus, B.1.1.529, was discovered in South Africa three days ago and 59 cases have been confirmed in South Africa, Hong Kong, and Botswana.
Although the variant is yet to be detected in the UK, it has gone ahead to announce that travelers from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini, will not be allowed into their shores from 12:00 GMT Friday (1 p.m. Nigerian time).
According to Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, “the UK Health Security Agency is investigating a new variant. More data is needed but we’re taking precautions now.”
“From noon tomorrow, November 26, six African countries will be added to the red list, flights will be temporarily banned, and UK travellers must quarantine.”
“The first indications we have of this variant are that it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant and that the vaccines we currently have may be less effective,” Mr Javid said.
According to him, British scientists are “very concerned” by this variant.
“We will ask anyone arriving from these countries from 4 a.m. on Sunday to quarantine themselves in hotels,” Mr Javid said, adding that those arriving before that date will have to self-isolate and do two PCR tests on the second and eighth day of their confinement.
Jerusalem:
Israel has identified a case of a Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations first detected in South Africa, the health ministry said Friday.
“The variant discovered in southern African states has been identified in Israel,” the health ministry said, adding it was recorded “in a person who returned from Malawi,” with “two more cases of people returning from abroad” placed in quarantine.
Singapore puts southern African nations on its red list
Singapore is the latest country to place seven nations, including South Africa, on its travel red list.
The country’s Ministry of Health says all travellers with recent travel history to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe will no longer be allowed to enter into or transit through Singapore, from 23:59 on Saturday.
EU proposes ’emergency brake’ on travel from southern Africa
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, says the EU is looking at introducing a travel ban for countries from southern Africa in a bid to protect member states from the new variant.
