Spain prolongs limitations on arrivals from the United Kingdom
Indice
The reports come as governments from the United States to Australia tighten restrictions on travel to southern Africa. The United States upgraded its travel advisories to warnings, and the United Kingdom is adding four more countries to its “red list.” Subsequently, South Africa may announce stricter blocking measures to curb the variant spread. At the same time, European countries are also doubling requirements for travelers arriving from the UK, one of the first nations to detect the new variant.
Denmark has probably recorded its first two cases of the new variant. The cases were recorded in passengers traveling from South Africa to Denmark, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said in a tweet Saturday. The two cases are to be confirmed by a second test, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
Blinken made the comments in a phone call Saturday with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. During the conversation, both diplomats emphasized the need for cooperation to vaccinate more people in Africa, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
U.S. bans travel from South Africa and other countries in the world
The cascade of country restrictions began Thursday night when the United Kingdom announced it would temporarily suspend flights from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini.
Singapore has opted to ban entry to all non-residents from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, while returning nationals and permanent residents from any of these countries will be required to spend 10 days at home. Malaysia has also taken similar measures.
Meanwhile, Germany plans to declare South Africa a “virus variant area” as of Friday night, which will mean that airlines will only be able to enter from the country to repatriate German nationals.
The United States will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries as of Monday. Following advice from Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Biden administration will restrict travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
COVID-19 variant is “the worst we have seen”.
As of early Sunday morning, the suspension will be lifted as a quarantine system for travelers from these countries will be put in place in hotel establishments for ten days.
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 the biological point of view that can change the behavior of the virus in relation to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility.
For its part, the Government of Israel has added South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Esuatini to the list of countries whose travelers are banned from entering, the Prime Minister’s office, Naftali Bennett, said after a special meeting.
Foreigners from these countries can no longer travel to Israel from those areas, and Israelis returning from there must stay in quarantine for up to 14 days in a coronavirus hotel. After one week they can leave if they test negative in a PCR test, while, in case of refusal, they will have to stay two weeks in quarantine in the accommodation.
Spain extends restrictions on flights from the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom on Thursday showed concern about a newly identified coronavirus variant in South Africa that could make vaccines less effective, and imposed travel restrictions to six African countries.
Javid said more data were needed, but the travel restrictions were necessary as a precaution, as scientists said laboratory studies were needed to assess the likelihood of mutations resulting in greatly reduced vaccine efficacy.
Officials have warned the government of the need to act quickly and preemptively if concerns about the impact of the variant are confirmed, although it could take weeks to generate all the necessary information about its characteristics.