South Africa Calls UK Flight Ban Over New Variant Of COVID-19 And Triggers Hasty Global Warning

JAKARTA - South Africa said on Friday the UK-issued flight ban on six south African countries over a new variant of COVID-19 appeared rushed, as European Union authorities prepared similar measures and the World Health Organization (WHO) held an emergency meeting.

Scientists have so far only detected the B.1.1529 variant in relatively small numbers, mainly in South Africa, as well as in Botswana and Hong Kong, but they are concerned about the high number of mutations that might make it vaccine-resistant and more infectious.

Britain said the variant was the most significant found after it banned flights from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia from midday on Friday.

Meanwhile, European Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was also aiming to halt air travel from the region, describing the variant in a tweet as "caution".

Separately, the WHO's working group on the evolution of the virus will meet on Friday to discuss whether to formally assign the label, a designation that has only been given to four variants so far.

WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said in a video posted on Twitter it could take several weeks to understand the impact of variant mutations.

The hubbub of the new COVID-19 variant sent the South African rand down more than 2 percent against the dollar in early Friday, as the variance left investors confused. South African hospitality stocks also plunged.

South Africa will talk to British authorities to try to get them to reconsider their ban, the foreign ministry in Pretoria said.

"Our immediate concern is the damage this decision will cause to the tourism and business industries of both countries," Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in a statement.

South Africa, the worst-affected in Africa in terms of total reported COVID cases and deaths, had been on a hiatus after a severe third wave of infections, until last week when new infections started to rise.

On Thursday, the National Institute for Infectious Diseases (NICD) reported 2,465 new cases, nearly double the previous day's number. Although the NICD does not link the resurgence to variant B.1.1.529, leading local scientists suspect it is the cause.

To note, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly discourages travel bans in countries that have reported the variant.

"Imposing a ban on travelers from countries where a new variant was reported has not yielded meaningful results," the agency said.