South Africa criticizes Britain’s ‘rushed’ travel ban over new COVID-19 variant
Global News
Britain on Thursday temporarily banned flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini from Friday after detection of the new variant was announced.
South Africa’s foreign ministry said Britain’s decision to ban flights from South Africa because of the detection of a new COVID-19 variant “seems to have been rushed”, as even the World Health Organization is yet to advise on the next steps.
Scientists have so far only detected the B.1.1.529 variant in relatively small numbers in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, but they are concerned by its high number of mutations which could help it evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible.
Britain on Thursday temporarily banned flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini from Friday after its detection was announced.
“Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries,” South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in a statement.
South Africa will engage with British authorities to try to get them to reconsider their decision, the statement added.
South Africa has requested an urgent sitting of a World Health Organization working group on virus evolution on Friday to discuss the new variant.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Emma Rumney and Kim Coghill)
The Liberal government and the NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.
Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate but gave Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the next Trump administration.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
The Calgary Zoo announced that one of its lowland gorillas unexpectedly passed away on November 12, 2024.
Edmontonians have had mixed feelings and now the city is asking people to share their thoughts officially. The findings of a survey could bring some changes.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, said many parents are likely having flashbacks to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite this flu being a single case.
WHO acknowledged that testing for mpox is still not widespread, making it difficult to understand how exactly the virus is spreading.
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
Ret. MCpl. Gordon Hurley, who served in Afghanistan, says psychedelic treatments such as ketamine and psilocybin can give veterans 'a breath of relief' from their trauma.