South Africa, along with five other African countries will once again be added to the UK’s travel red list from noon on Friday, 26 November 2021. This comes after a new Covid-19 variant of concern – B.1.1.529 – was detected in the country.
The six countries on the red list are:
- South Africa
- Botswana
- Lesotho
- Eswatini
- Zimbabwe
- Namibia
Sajid Javid, the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social care, said that the UK Health Security Agency was investigating the new variant and although more data is needed the authorities are taking pre-emptive precautionary measures immediately.
“No cases have been identified in the UK,” the governments said in a statement. “We are taking these precautionary measures to protect public health and the progress we’ve made so far through our successful vaccination programme.”
At a briefing on Tuesday afternoon, South African scientists said the B.1.1.529 variant has a high number of mutations and while it will take some time before its full significance is known, the variant is predicted to have enhanced transmissibility and significant immune evasion.
Sources: MSN, BBC, Business Insider
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