South Africa has complained that it feels like it’s being punished – not praised – after discovering Omicron, a new variant of Covid-19.
The South African Foreign Ministry’s statement comes as countries around the world restrict travel from South Africa after details were revealed about the deployment of the Omicron variant.
Preliminary evidence suggests that Omicron has a higher risk of re-infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the new variant was “worrying”.
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Several cases have now been identified in Europe – two in England, two in Germany, one in Belgium and one in Italy, while suspected cases were found in the Czech Republic.
Israel, where the new variant has been confirmed, has decided to ban all foreigners from entering the country from midnight Sunday.
The action will last 14 days, according to Israel Times.
Omicron cases have also been detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel.
Hundreds of passengers who arrived in the Netherlands from South Africa were immediately tested for the new variant.
A total of 61 people on two KLM flights tested positive for Covid-19 and were quarantined at a hotel near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport while they undergo further testing, Dutch officials said.
The Netherlands is currently grappling with a record spike in cases. Partial containment was extended and came into effect on Sunday evening.
The new variant of Omicron was first reported to WHO by South Africa on November 24.
Critics of South Africa
South Africa’s foreign ministry on Saturday strongly condemned travel bans imposed by a number of countries.
“Excellent knowledge should be appreciated and not punished,” he said.
The ban was “similar to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and its ability to detect new variants more quickly.”
The statement added that the reaction was completely different when a new variant was discovered elsewhere in the world.
An African Union official told the BBC that developed countries were to blame for the emergence of the variant.
“What is happening today is inevitable, it is the result of the world’s failure to immunize fairly, urgently and quickly.
It’s because of hoarding [vaksin] by the high income countries of the world, and frankly this is unacceptable, ”said Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the African Union Vaccine Delivery Alliance.
“This travel ban is based on politics, not science. This is wrong … Why are we locking up Africa when this virus is already on three continents?”
Prohibited from entering a number of countries
Getty Images On Friday and Saturday, several countries announced new measures:
- Visitors from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho and Eswatini will not be able to enter the UK unless they are British or Irish citizens, or UK residents.
- Officials LIKE said it would ban foreigners from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi from entry, mirroring previous measures taken by the EU . This decision will take effect on Monday.
- Australia on Saturday announced that flights from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique would be suspended for 14 days. Non-Australians who have visited these countries in the past two weeks are now prohibited from entering Australia
- Japan announced that from Saturday, travelers from most parts of southern Africa will need to be quarantined for 10 days and will have to undergo four tests during that time.
- India ordered more stringent screening and testing for tourists from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong
- Canada ban all foreign nationals who have traveled through South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini or Mozambique in the last 14 days.
WHO says the number of cases of this variant, originally named B.1.1.529, appears to be increasing in almost all provinces of South Africa.
“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are worrying,” the UN public health agency said in a statement on Friday.
He said that “the first known confirmed confirmed infection with B.1.1529 was from a sample collected on November 9”.
The WHO says it will take several weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as scientists are still working to determine how contagious it is.
A senior British health official warned that the vaccine would “almost certainly” be less effective against the new variant.
But Professor James Naismith, a structural biologist at the University of Oxford, added: “This is bad news but it does not mean the end of the world.”
The head of the South African Medical Association told the BBC that the cases found so far in South Africa – where only around 24% of the population have been fully vaccinated – were not serious, but said that the investigations into the variant were still very early. to organise. .
“Patients mainly complain of body aches and fatigue, extreme fatigue and we see it in young people, not old people… but that doesn’t mean the patient could go straight to the hospital and be treated,” said Dr Angelique Coetzee. .
U.S. infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci said although reports of the new variant raised “warnings,” it was possible that a vaccine could still work to prevent serious illness.
The WHO had previously warned countries immediately imposing hasty travel restrictions, saying they should look to a “science-based, risk-based approach.”
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