UK travel ban: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and odas enta Red list for United Kingdom latest restriction sake of Covid 19 new B.1.1.529 variant

Di UK don temporarily suspend direct flights from six African countries from 12:00GMT on Friday, 26, November, 2021.

Dem go also add dis kontris to di UK travel red list.

Dis dey come as scientist say dem identify one new coronavirus variant strain wey dem detect for Botswana and e don spread to South Africa.

And British scientists don tok say di B.1.1.529 variant na di worst wey dem don ever see.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid tok say from 12:00 GMT on Friday dem go add di six kontris to dia red list, and flights go dey temporarily banned.

Also dem tok say travellers wey dey England from many southern African kontris go need new quarantine sake of warnings ontop di new coronavirus variant.

One expert say di variant, known as B.1.1.529, na "di worst one we don ever see", and concerns dey say immunity fit no work for am.

Na only 59 confam cases dem don identify for South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana so far.

See di six African kontris UK wan suspend flight from

Oga Javid say di scientists dey "deeply concerned" about di new variant and dem go need to learn more about am.

But im tok say di variant dey quick spread, "even double pass di way we don see Delta variant dey spread".

Im also add say "dat one go suggest say di new variant fit dey catch pipo more and di current vaccines wey we get fit no work for am."

E tok say why im dey add di six kontris to di red list na "to dey careful and take action and try to protect our borders di best way we fit do am".

From 12:00 on Friday, dem go ban non-UK and Irish residents from entering England if dem don dey for di six kontris in di past 10 days.

Any British or Irish resident wey dey arrivie from di kontris afta 04:00 on Sunday go need quarantine for hotel.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA don ask pipo wey don enta di kontri in di last 10 days to do PCR test.

Di flight ban go remain in place until di hotel quarantine system dey up and running.

On Thursday, South Africa share data of how di B.1.1.529 variant dey responsible for di dramatic rise in cases across di kontri, especially for Gauteng province.

Wetin we sabi about di new Covid variant

Dem call am B.1.1.529 and e dey likely say World Health Organization go give am Greek code-name (like di Alpha and Delta variants) on Friday.

Prof Tulio de Oliveira, di director of di Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation for South Africa, say e get how dis new variant "dey unusually develop " and e dey "very different" to other variants wey don circulate.

"Dis variant surprise us, e get big jump on how e develop plus many more mutations wey we bin expect," e tok.

For one media briefing, Prof de Oliveira say e get 50 mutations overall and di spike protein pass 30.

30 na di target protein spike of most vaccines and di key wey di virus dey use to unlock di doorway into our body cells.

Wen di virus first make contact wit di cells for our body e get 10 mutations compared to just two for di Delta variant wey don sweep di world.

E dey likely say dis level of mutation dey come from one single patient wey no fit beat di virus.

Plenty mutation no automatically mean: bad. E dey important to sabi wetin di mutations dey actually do.

But wetin dey worry be say dis virus dey radically different to di original wey comot from Wuhan, China. Dis one mean say di vaccines, wey dem design using di original strain, fit no work.

Dem don already see some of di mutation for other variants, wey give some insight into dia role for dis variant.

Scientific studies for di laboratory go give clearer picture, but answers go come more quickly from monitoring di virus for di real world.

E still dey too early to conclude, but signs don already dey wey dey cause worry.

South Africa don confam 77 cases for Gauteng province, four cases for Botswana and one for Hong Kong (wey directly link to travel from South Africa).

However, e get clues say di variant fit spread even more widely.