Singapore, UK ban entry from six African nations amid new COVID variant

Singapore/London, Nov 26 (PTI): Singapore restricted entry of people with recent travel history to seven African countries after reports that a potentially more contagious COVID-19 variant may be circulating there, the Ministry of Health said on Friday.
All long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with travel history within the last 14 days to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe will not be allowed to enter Singapore or transit here.
The restrictions also apply to those who have obtained prior approval for entry into Singapore.
Singapore citizens and permanent residents returning from these countries will have to serve a 10-day stay-home notice at a dedicated facility.
Six southern African countries were added to the UK’s travel red list on Friday after the new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 — red-flagged by health experts as highly transmissible and effective at evading the body’s immune response — was first detected in South Africa earlier this week. The countries that have now been added to the UK’s Red List include South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, as well as Lesotho and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), both of which are landlocked within South Africa.
The flights from these countries were temporarily suspended from noon on Friday.
However, travellers arriving from any of the six southern African nations to the UK on Friday will have to quarantine for 10 days in a government-approved hotel, according to the slew of protocols announced.
Scientists around the world are still finding out more about the new variant of virus, such as whether it is more transmissible than the Delta variant, whether it is more likely to lead to severe illnesses, and efficacy of existing vaccines against this new variant. SWhile Singapore currently has no cases of this variant, “we should take the necessary precautions to reduce the risks” of it spreading here, the MOH said.
South Africa was previously a Category II country with travellers serving a seven-day stay-home notice at their declared place of accommodation after arriving in Singapore. It has now been reclassified as a Category IV country.
The other six are Category IV countries, with arriving travellers with recent travel history to these countries currently required to serve a 10-day stay-home notice at dedicated facilities.

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