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By Reuters, AFP 
1 hour ago
Johannesburg – At least five countries and airlines, including Germany and Turkey, are reported to have banned flights from South Africa on Monday over the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus.
South Africa’s health department said last week that a new Covid-19 genetic mutation had been found in the country and could be responsible for a recent spike in infections.
Sudan will ban travelers from South Africa, Britain and the Netherlands from December 23 due to the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus, the head of the civil aviation authority told Reuters on Monday.
The ban will last three weeks, subject to renewal, and more countries could be added to the list as the situation develops, said Ibrahim Adlan.
According to AFP, Switzerland imposed an entry ban on arrivals from Great Britain and South Africa on Monday and ordered a retroactive quarantine for all arrivals from the countries since December 14.
“Following the discovery of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus in the UK and South Africa, the Federal Council today decided to take action to prevent further spread of this new strain of the virus,” it said in a statement.
“All people who have entered Switzerland from these two countries since December 14 must be quarantined for 10 days.
“The Federal Council has also introduced a general entry ban as of today for all foreigners wishing to enter Switzerland from the UK and South Africa. This is aimed in particular at stopping travel from these countries for tourism purposes.”
Following a suspension announced on Sunday, the government said air travel between Switzerland and Great Britain and South Africa was now banned.
“A temporary repeal of the flight ban is being considered for people residing in the UK or South Africa and currently in Switzerland so they can return home” and vice versa for Swiss residents, “the government said.
“However, it is imperative that these return trips do not cause infections.”
Germany said it planned to impose restrictions on flights to and from South Africa and Britain, where the new strain was also identified.
El Salvador said on Sunday that it was banning travelers who have been to either country in the last 30 days or whose flights include a stopover in them.
Business Insider said that Israel, Turkey, Germany and Saudi Arabia had also stopped air travel to and from South Africa.
Rogan Cowan, from Cape Town, was scheduled to travel with his wife to Luxembourg on December 26 to start a new job as an analyst at an asset management company.
But that plan is now up in the air, Cowan told Reuters, as the 27-year-old has not even been able to confirm whether his scheduled flight has been canceled.
“This has turned us upside down. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on … I haven’t even thought about all the effects,” Cowan said.
Aviation experts said they expected more airlines and countries to follow suit, at least until more was known.
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