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Following a British embargo on flights from southern African countries, South Africa said on Friday that imposing restrictions on visitors from the country was unreasonable due to a newly detected COVID-19 variation.
At a press conference, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said that South Africa was behaving transparently and that travel prohibition was against the World Health Organization’s (WHO) norms and guidelines, which had convened an emergency meeting over the omicron variant.
Scientists have only found the mutation in limited numbers so far, mostly in South Africa, but also in Botswana, Hong Kong, and Israel. They are concerned, however, by the high number of changes, which have generated fears that it could become more vaccine-resistant and transmissible.
The genetic traits of the mutation, as well as the apparent impact it is having in communities across southern Africa, have caused concern among disease experts.
B.1.1.529 has a variety of unique mutations, including roughly 30 in its spike protein, which is responsible for the virus’s attachment to human cells
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, and Namibia have all been barred from flying to the UK because of the variant. European Union member states have also agreed to halt travel to southern Africa, according to the EU president.
Despite the fact that nothing is known about Omicron, its appearance prompted the WHO to classify it as a variety of concern, resulting in a worldwide travel ban.
Maharashtra has imposed new limitations a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) identified a new strain of the unique coronavirus, B.1.1.529, as a “variant of concern.” According to the latest requirements, all travelers entering the state from any overseas destination will be subject to central government directives, while all domestic travelers should be properly vaccinated or carry a 72-hour RT-PCR test, according to news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday chaired a meeting with top officials to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the country as well as the nationwide vaccination drive.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said it was high time the government ensure vaccine security for all Indians. “Bad vaccination figures can’t be hidden for long behind one man’s photo,” he tweeted, taking a jibe at the prime minister.
India reported 8,318 new Covid-19 cases and 465 deaths in the 24 hours leading up to 9 a.m. Saturday. The daily positivity rate was 0.86 percent on average. For the past 54 days, it has been less than 2%. The weekly positive rate was 0.88 percent as well. According to the health ministry, it has been below 1% for the past 13 days