As a new COVID variant with over 30 mutations spreads in South Africa, the United Kingdom is temporarily suspending flights from six countries. 

The announcement was made by Sajid Javid, the UK’s secretary of state for health and social care, just hours after the World Health Organization briefed on the new variant. On Friday, the organisation called a special meeting to continue research into the variant, which has been found in small numbers in South Africa.

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“More data is needed but we’re taking precautions now. From noon tomorrow six African countries will be added to the red list, flights will be temporarily banned, and UK travellers must quarantine,” Javid wrote on Twitter.

According to a statement released by the UK’s health, transport, and health security agencies, the new restrictions apply to Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana and Lesotho in addition to South Africa. 

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Thursday that a special meeting will be held on Friday to discuss the new variant’s implications for vaccines and treatments. 

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According to the WHO, the variant, known as B.1.1.529, has been detected in small numbers in South Africa. The virus has quickly spread throughout the Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, the country’s largest city.

During the briefing, South Africa’s Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla, said the variant had been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong.

“We don’t know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said in a Q&A that was live streamed on the organization’s social media channels.

The newly discovered variant arrives as infection levels in countries around the world remain high. In recent days, Austria and Italy announced new restrictions in bid to slow down the spread of the virus in Europe. 

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Over 30 mutations have been discovered in the new variant by South African scientists, raising concerns that it may be able to better evade the antibody protection provided by vaccines and prior infections. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, countries have used flight restrictions or total travel bans to slow the spread of COVID. The United States recently lifted its travel ban on 33 countries, including the United Kingdom.