AMN/ WEB DESK
South Africa has started to see a new variant of Covid-19 with over 30 spike mutations which have led to pick up in Covid-19 case numbers, particularly in the most populous province of Gauteng.
The variant was first spotted in Botswana and the other circulating countries are Hong Kong and South Africa. Assigned as B.1.1.529, carries an unusually large number of mutations and is “clearly very different” from previous incarnations, Dr. Tom Peacock tweeted that the variant should be monitored due to its “horrific spike profile”.
Britain announced temporarily banning flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Eswatini from 1200 GMT on Friday, and that returning British travellers from those destinations would have to quarantine.