European countries ban travel to South Africa due to the novel coronavirus variant – Politico

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European countries moved Friday morning to restrict travel to South Africa, citing concerns about the newly identified type of coronavirus.

Two EU diplomats told POLITICO that a meeting of the EU’s integrated response to the political crisis – a tool used by EU countries for coordination during crises – has been called for Friday afternoon to discuss the emergence of an alternative.

President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Commission wanted emergency brake powers to be activated to halt air travel from the region. The emergency brake mechanism allows EU countries to impose a travel ban if the epidemiological situation in a country outside the EU deteriorates due to a worrying variable.

It comes on the heels of the British authorities’ decision Thursday night to impose new travel restrictions on six African countries, including South Africa, due to growing concern about the newly discovered viral boom.

Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic have already announced travel restrictions to the region.

The variant, known as B.1.1.529, expected to be renamed ‘No’, was discovered in South Africa, Hong Kong, Israel and Botswana. Most of the cases are in South Africa, where the density of mutations in the new variant has raised concerns that it may be more infectious and better at evading vaccine immunity than previous variants.

Its prevalence in South Africa, exceeding the delta variant, which is the most contagious strain known to date, is of concern to health experts, although data is still scarce at this point.

On Friday, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced that it had detected three suspected cases of this type in the country.

“This is the most critical option we have faced so far, and urgent research is being conducted to learn more about its transmissibility, severity and vaccine susceptibility,” said Jenny Harris, chief executive of the UK’s Health Security Agency.

Italy announced Friday morning that it had banned entry into the country for anyone who had visited South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia or Eswatini in the past 14 days.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that as of Friday night, “only airlines are allowed to fly Germans to Germany, moreover, a 14-day quarantine is mandatory for everyone, including vaccinators.”

The Netherlands has also implemented a ban on flights from the region from Friday noon. The southern part of Africa will also be classified as “high risk”, meaning that incoming travelers will have to quarantine for 10 days and undergo mandatory testing.

The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it is investigating the alternative. As of November 25, 77 cases have been detected in South Africa, 4 in Botswana, and 1 in Hong Kong. The CDC said it “strongly discourages” travel bans on visitors from countries that have reported the alternative.

Lucas Kotkamp and Cornelius Hirsch contributed to the report.

This story has been updated.

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