WASHINGTON (AFP) – The U.S. The United States, Brazil, Canada, and Saudi Arabia became the latest countries on Friday to impose travel restrictions from southern Africa, where a new Covid strain labelled a “variant of concern” was discovered, dealing a potentially devastating blow to the world’s efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the World Health Organization, the new variety is more infectious than the prevalent, highly transmissible Delta strain, and this B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19 has been called Omicron.
After being discovered in South Africa, Botswana, and subsequently Hong Kong, it has made its way to Europe, with one confirmed case in Belgium.
Tourists in Johannesburg hurried to the airport to catch a final flight out as countries across the world began closing their borders, with many concerned that the new variety might be more resistant to vaccinations.
Global markets fell on reports of the latest setback in the fight against the pandemic.
To halt the spread of the virus, US President Joe Biden urged nations should contribute additional Covid-19 vaccines and give up intellectual property protections to produce more doses globally.
“The discovery of this new variation should make it clearer than ever why this pandemic will not be over until we get worldwide vaccines,” he added.
Scientists are now rushing to establish the extent of the harm presented by the substantially altered strain and whether current coronavirus vaccinations should be modified.
The WHO warned that understanding the variety might take several weeks and advised against implementing travel restrictions while scientific data was still lacking.
Despite the fact that many members had already announced flight cancellations, EU officials convening in an emergency meeting resolved to encourage all 27 states in the bloc to limit travel from southern Africa.
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