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Coronavirus pandemic
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New Africa Covid-19 variant causes concern; countries begin imposing travel restrictions

  • WHO holding special session on Friday to discuss new B.1.1.529 variant but says it could take weeks to understand implications
  • The UN health body cautions against travel restrictions but many countries, including in Asia, have begun restricting arrivals from parts of Africa

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People in a shopping mall, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 26. Advisers to the WHO are holding a special session to flesh out information about a worrying new variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in South Africa, although its impact on vaccines may not be known for weeks. Photo: AP
Agence France-PresseandReuters
It is appropriate to be concerned about the new coronavirus variant spreading in southern Africa, the World Health Organization’s Special Envoy on Covid-19 David Nabarro said on Friday.

It was a view apparently echoed by many nations, who have moved swiftly to try to prevent such an unwanted visitor from gaining access to their populations, while the UN health body held a special meeting to find out more but cautioned against travel restrictions.

“My own view is that really it is appropriate to be concerned about this,” Nabarro told the BBC. “I’ll tell you why. The virus looks like it will have greater capacity to evade the defences that we’ve all built up as a result of the vaccinations we’ve received since the beginning of this year.”

A severely ill coronavirus patient is carried onto a German airforce plane on November 26, to be flown to another part of the country with more hospital capacity. Photo: Reuters
A severely ill coronavirus patient is carried onto a German airforce plane on November 26, to be flown to another part of the country with more hospital capacity. Photo: Reuters

Singapore and Malaysia said on Friday they would restrict arrivals from seven African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe – with the curbs beginning this weekend.

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Citizens and foreigners holding permanent resident status will be allowed to return but will have to undergo quarantine, health officials in both countries said. Malaysia also banned its citizens from visiting the seven affected nations.

Neither country has detected the new variant, but Singapore’s health ministry said it was seeking to “take the necessary precautions to reduce the risks” of it reaching the city state.

People lineup to get on a flight to Paris from Johannesburg on Friday. A slew of nations have moved to stop air travel from southern Africa in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible Covid-19 variant detected in South Africa. Scientists say it is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. Photo: AP
People lineup to get on a flight to Paris from Johannesburg on Friday. A slew of nations have moved to stop air travel from southern Africa in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible Covid-19 variant detected in South Africa. Scientists say it is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. Photo: AP

The Philippines suspended inbound international flights on Friday from South Africa and other countries with cases or the likelihood of cases of a new coronavirus variant, the presidential office said.

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