UK, Israel Ban Travel From Six African Countries Over New Covid-19 Variant
Several countries including the UK, Israel and Singapore have banned travelers coming from some Southern African from entering their countries over a new COVID-19 variant first identified in the region. On Thursday, the new variant, B.1.1. 529, with a very high number of mutations was discovered in South Africa. Confirming the discovery in a statement on Thursday, the country’s National Institute for communicable Diseases (NICD) said 22 positive cases of the new variant have so far been detected in the country. Israel, which recorded its first confirmed three cases of the B.1.1.529 on Friday, has also stopped entry from the six countries including South Africa, Botswana, Estiwatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It later added Mozambique to its list. It barred its citizens from travelling to southern Africa, and also required returning Israelis to quarantine.