UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid speaks during a press conference on Downing Street on October 20, 2021 in London, England.
Toby Melville | WPA pool | Getty Images News
Great Britain is temporarily suspending flights from six countries as a new variant of Covid with more than 30 mutations spreads in South Africa.
Sajid Javid, UK Foreign Secretary for Health and Welfare, made the announcement hours after the World Health Organization launched the new variant. The organization called for a special meeting on Friday to further investigate the variant, which has been detected in small numbers in South Africa.
“More data is needed, but we are taking precautions now. Starting tomorrow at noon, six African countries will be placed on the red list, flights will be temporarily banned and British travelers will have to be quarantined,” wrote Javid on Twitter.
In addition to South Africa, the countries of Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana are also affected by the new restrictions, according to a statement by the British health, traffic and health safety authorities.
WHO is holding a special session on Friday to discuss what the new variant could mean for vaccines and treatments, officials said Thursday.
According to the WHO, the variant with the designation B.1.1.529 was found in small numbers in South Africa. The variant has spread rapidly in Gauteng Province, which is home to the country’s largest city, Johannesburg.
The variant had also been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong, said the South African Minister of Health Joe Phaahla during the briefing.
“We don’t know much about it yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. “Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director on Covid-19, said in a question-and-answer session that was broadcast live on the organization’s social media channels.
The newly discovered variant is arriving as infection rates remain high in countries around the world. In Europe, Austria and Italy have announced new restrictions in the last few days aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
South African scientists have discovered more than 30 mutations in the new variant, raising concerns that it may better bypass the antibody protection created by vaccines and previous infections.
Countries have used flight or total travel restrictions as a tool to slow the spread of Covid since the early days of the pandemic. The US lifted its travel bans from 33 countries, including the UK, earlier this month.