Europe is on high alert after Belgium has registered on Friday its first case of the new, more transmissible South African coronavirus variant labeled B.1.1529, which is feared to be more resistant to vaccines.
The new strain was found in a traveler returning from Egypt, as it was confirmed by the virologist Marc Van Ranst, whose laboratory works with Belgium’s public health institute Sciensano.
The unvaccinated traveler has allegedly returned to Belgium from Egypt on Nov. 11 and has developed the first symptoms on Nov. 22. Belgium’s health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said Friday that caution is necessary, but urged public not to panic.
Belgium has immediatly imposed flight bans from southern African countries on Friday followed by Germany and France, which suspended all flights from South Africa for 48 hours, while the European Union is still considering a bloc-wide ban.
In close coordination with member states, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday in a post on Twitter that they’ll propose activating the emergency brake to stop air travel from the southern African region.
The UK was first to ban flights from Botswana, South Africa, and four other southern African nations on Thursday until November 28 although Health Secretary Sajid Javid stressed that it’s only a matter of precaution, reassuring the House that there are no detected cases in the UK at this time.
Javid, who also noted that the strain is now spreading beyond South Africa and Botswana, said that beginning at noon on Friday, these six countries were placed on the red-list while imposing mandatory quarantine for UK travelers returning from that region.
Although there are suspicions of far more cases than are currently reported, more than 100 cases have been confirmed in South Africa, and two cases in Hong Kong, one of which was recently traveling to Africa.
Be the first to comment