Germany will refuse entry to its territory to foreign travelers from South Africa due to the discovery of a new variant of Covid-19, the outgoing German Minister of Health Jens Spahn announced on Friday (November 26). .
Read also Covid-19: B.1.1.529, this disturbing variant identified in South Africa
This rule, which will apply from Friday evening, will concern South Africa and "
probably neighboring countries
", he added.
Only German citizens will be allowed to re-enter, respecting a 14-day quarantine, even if they are vaccinated.
Italy does the same
“
The last thing we need now is the introduction of a new variant which is causing even more problems,
” the Minister explained.
Italy has announced a similar measure targeting travelers from southern Africa, a decision that the European Commission will propose to generalize.
Britain had previously announced that all flights from South Africa and its neighbors Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Botswana would be banned from 12:00 GMT on Friday.
Read alsoCovid-19: a new variant in South Africa, explosion of cases in Europe
The B.1.1.529 variant shows an "
extremely high
" number of mutations and "
we can see that it has a potential for very rapid spread
," according to South African health authorities.
At this point, South African scientists are unsure of the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the new form of the virus.
The WHO has declared "to
follow closely
" this new variant and must meet Friday to determine its dangerousness.
Fears related to this new variant led to sharp drops in world stock markets, Tokyo losing 3% during the session and Frankfurt more than 3% at the opening.