UK Bans Flights From Six African Countries As “Worst Of All” | Coronavirus

The UK will add six African countries to the covid-19 red list, temporarily banning flights due to the risk posed by a new variant found in South Africa and considered “the worst so far,” it was released today.

Variant B.1.1.529 has an “extremely large number” of mutations. which could prevent an immune response caused by infection or vaccination, British experts, cited by Sky News, warn.

Health Minister Sajid Javid said via Twitter that the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) is “investigating a new option” and that “more data is needed” but “precautions are being taken.”

“From noon tomorrow [sexta-feira]”Six African countries will be added to the ‘red list’, flights will be temporarily banned, and travelers from the UK will be quarantined,” it said.

The countries on the “red list” are South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Svatini and Zimbabwe.

Sajid Javid warned that the new strain found in South Africa “may be more transmissible than Delta,” and added that “vaccines currently on the market may be less effective.”

According to experts, this option is “the worst identified to date.”

Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, called the mutations “truly horrible,” but noted that there were still few cases.

According to the BBC, no case has yet been confirmed for this new variant in the UK.

So far, only 59 confirmed cases have been reported in South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana.