WHO warns of new South African variant
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File – 18 January 2021, United Kingdom, London: A passenger pushes a trolley through the arrival hall of Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport, passengers arriving from anywhere outside the UK must have proof of a negative coronavirus test and self – Kirsty O’connor/PA Wire/dpa – Archive
From the early hours of Sunday morning, the suspension will be lifted by putting in place a ten-day quarantine system for travelers from these countries in hotel establishments.
London has adopted these restrictions after having declared the variant, B.1.1.529, Variant under investigation (VuI) by the Health Security Agency of the country considering that “it includes a large number of mutations (…) potentially significant from a biological point of view that may change the behavior of the virus in relation to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility.
For its part, the Government of Israel has included South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Esuatini in the list of countries whose travelers are banned from entering, the Prime Minister’s office, Naftali Bennett, said after a special meeting.
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“The European Commission will propose, in close coordination with the Member States, to activate the emergency brake to stop air travel from the African region due to the worrying B.1.1.529 variant,” Der Leyen said in a statement.
According to the British Health Security Agency, among its 30 mutations, the new variant has a peak protein that is radically different from that of the original coronavirus on which antigens against the disease are based.
For their part, Austrian authorities closed their borders Friday to travelers arriving by plane from seven southern African countries because of the potential danger of the new variant.
“We are reacting quickly and consistently,” said Austrian Prime Minister Alexander Schallenberg, saying the measure will come into force at midnight next week. The countries included in the ban are the same as those of Italy.
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In a press release issued today by the Prime Minister’s office, travelers from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Esuatini will not be allowed to enter French territory, regardless of their vaccination status.
“We do not want to have to diagnose this variant on national and European territory, even if we do not know more about its dangerousness, the decision was taken to immediately suspend all flights from southern Africa for at least 48 hours,” said French Health Minister Olivier Veran, quoted by BFMTV.
In a press release issued today by the Prime Minister’s office, travelers from South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Esuatini, will not be allowed to enter French territory, regardless of their vaccination status.
“We do not want to have to diagnose this variant on national and European territory, even if we do not know more about its dangerousness, the decision was taken to immediately suspend all flights from southern Africa for at least 48 hours,” said the French Minister of Health, Olivier Veran, quoted by BFMTV.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) today determined that the new variant of the coronavirus detected in South Africa, which it has named with the Greek letter omicron, is “at risk” and possibly more contagious, on a day when many states, including the U.S. and the EU, suspended travel with southern Africa.
South African scientists and health authorities reported Thursday the detection of a new variant of the coronavirus, identified as B.1.1.529, and although few cases have been confirmed elsewhere outside Africa, concerns about its transmissibility and potential ability to evade immunity sparked fears.
Before and after the WHO experts’ opinion, fear of this new variant of the coronavirus today led to a cascading suspension of travel and restrictions on some southern African states.
The U.S. government, which had decided to wait for more information before deciding whether to suspend air traffic with South Africa and other African countries, announced later that as of next Monday it will place restrictions on travelers from South Africa and seven other southern countries: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.