The decision of many countries on Friday to ban the entry into their territory of travelers from South Africa after the discovery in this country of a new variant of COVID-19 is “unjustified”, regretted the southern minister. -African Health.
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Scientists announced the day before that they had detected a new form of COVID-19 in the southern African country, potentially very contagious and with multiple mutations. The efficacy of vaccines against this mutant form is under study.
Over the course of the day, many countries such as France, Morocco or the Philippines have announced following Great Britain to suspend flights. The European Union has recommended suspending all flights to and from southern Africa and other countries affected by the appearance of the new variant B.1.1.529.
“Some reactions are unwarranted,” Minister Joe Phaahla said at a press conference in the evening.
“Some leaders are looking for scapegoats to solve a problem that is global,” he continued, referring to “instinctive reactions of panic”.
Such “draconian” measures, which particularly impact the tourism sector, could encourage countries not to report the discovery of future variants in order not to be sanctioned.
The last variant discovered seems to have already spread, with cases detected in neighboring Botswana, but also in Hong Kong and Belgium.
South Africa is officially the African country most affected by the pandemic and is experiencing an exponential increase in contamination. The country has more than 2.9 million cases and nearly 89,800 deaths.