A health expert said Hong Kong should ban all returnees from African countries where the new mutant Covid strain has been detected. Two cases of the new Covid-19 strain raising alarm in southern Africa have been found in travelers arriving in Hong Kong earlier. The health expert also said the United Kingdom has already banned travelers from certain African countries with the new variant detected, suggesting the SAR follow suit. In Botswana - a neighbor of South Africa - the new variant has been detected in vaccinated people, Kereng Masupu, coordinator of the Presidential Covid-19 Task Force, said in a statement. The U.K. said late Thursday local time that it will temporarily halt flights from South Africa and five neighboring countries on concerns about B.1.1.529.

Source: The Standard November 26, 2021 15:41 UTC