New COVID-19 variant forces many countries to reimpose travel restrictions

Passengers queue to check in for a flight on Singapore Airlines at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa
Passengers queue to check in for a flight on Singapore Airlines at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa

A new variant of the COVID-19 has made some countries to impose restrictions such as travel bans; others have renewed the blockades across the Omicron variant.

The new limitations come after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the new COVID-19 variant “concerning”.

The Omicron variant, which experts say has a large number of mutations, was first discovered in South Africa last week and quickly spread through the province of Gauteng, home of the Johannesburg economic hub and the Capital Pretoria. It has so far been identified in at least four other nations.

Also known as B.1.1.529, the mutations can help the virus avoid the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible, according to scientists.

It could take weeks to find out if the current vaccines are less effective against them.

In response to the discovery of the variant, the USA, Canada, Russia and a whole host of other countries join the European Union to restrict travel for visitors from various South African countries.

Cardiff, Scarlets and Munster have been left with quarantines and disruptions to the game plan as they got stuck in South Africa, hoping to leave this weekend despite travel bans.

The two Welsh clubs are unlikely to beat the Sunday deadline set by the UK government on travellers from South Africa to avoid hotel quarantine.

They tried to charter a flight home on Friday but were refused permission by the British Civil Aviation Authority, Cardiff and Scarlets said.

Cardiff said their players remained in good spirits at their Cape Town base while efforts to bring them back continued. Scarlets said their players returned negative tests but followed strict COVID-19 protocols.

Munster’s players will have to isolate themselves at home for ten days after returning to Ireland, where quarantine regulations are less restrictive, but all three teams have a resounding effect on their game plan.