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Britain on Wednesday introduced travel restrictions from South Africa due to the spread of another new variant of the coronavirus, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said.
The restrictions, which took effect immediately, were introduced following the discovery of two cases of the virus strain in Great Britain.
“This new variant is very concerning, because it is even more transmissible and appears to have mutated more than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK,” said Hancock, referring to a strain of the virus discovered in Britain that has also been found to be more contagious.
The health minister said that all the people in the UK who had contracted the variant native to South Africa had been quarantined, as well as their close contacts.
In addition to travel restrictions, Hancock said the government was also asking anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has been to South Africa in the past two weeks to quarantine them.
“They must restrict all contact with any other person,” he said.
The discovery of cases of what officials believe is a new and more transmissible variant of the coronavirus in the UK follows the announcement last week that a new strain had spread across southern England.
In response to the increasing number of coronavirus cases, Britain has ordered a series of coronavirus restrictions in affected areas.
More than 50 countries also imposed their own travel restrictions on the UK, including France.
The ban on the transport of goods through the canal to Europe has wreaked havoc at the key port of Dover and raised fears of food shortages in the country’s supermarkets due to paralysis of supply chains.
Hancock announced on Wednesday the expansion of strict lockdown measures in other parts of southern England to contain the spread of the disease.
With more than 68,000 deaths from the virus, the UK is one of the worst affected countries in Europe.
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