LAST UPDATE | 23 Dec 2020

THE UNITED KINGDOM is placing travel restrictions on people arriving from South Africa after two cases of another new variant of Covid-19 have been detected associated with travel from South Africa.

In South Africa, researchers have identified a severe variant of the coronavirus, the 501.V2 Variant, which could explain the rapid spread of a second wave there affecting younger people.

The shares some similarities with the strain dominant in the UK that is causing concern but it is thought to have evolved separately.

Speaking at a Downing Street briefing this afternoon,  said that two cases of the variant have been identified.

“We’ve detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK both are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks,” he said, adding that UK scientists have been in contact with counterparts in South Africa.

This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant has been discovered in the UK. We’ve taken the following actions. First, we are quarantining cases and close contacts of cases found here in the UK. Second, we’re placing immediate restrictions on travel from South Africa. And finally, and most importantly, anyone in the UK who has been in South Africa in the past fortnight, and anyone who has a close contact of someone who’s been in South Africa, in the last fortnight must quarantine immediately.

On Monday, Switzerland imposed an entry ban on arrivals from Britain and South Africa and ordered retroactive quarantine for all arrivals from the countries since 14 December.

A slew of countries, including Ireland, currently have travel bans in place on Britain due to the new variant of Covid-19 spreading there.

Speaking about the transmissibility of the new “South African variant”, Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said they are “still learning about it”.

“Both of them look like they’re more transmissible, we have more evidence on the transmission for the UK variant because we’ve been studying it in great detail with our academic partners, we’re still learning about the South African variant,” she said.

Tier 4

The announcement about the new variant came as Hancock announced that millions more people in England will be placed into lockdown from 26 December due the  “dangerous rate” of coronavirus spread. 

Areas moving to the toughest Tier 4– where there is a stay at home order – from St Stephen’s Day are: Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and parts of Essex not yet in Tier 4

The changes mean an additional six million people will be in a Tier 4 in three days’ time, 24 million people in total or 43% of the population of England.