South Africa has complained it is being punished – instead of applauded – for discovering Omicron, a concerning new variant of Covid-19.
The foreign ministry made the statement as countries around the world restrict travel from southern African countries as details of the spread emerged.
Early evidence suggests Omicron has a higher re-infection risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the new variant was being considered as “of concern”.
Several cases have been identified in Europe, including two in the UK and one in Belgium. Single suspected cases were also found in Germany and the Czech republic.
The new variant has also been detected in Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel.
Hundreds of passengers arriving in the Netherlands from South Africa are being tested for the new variant.
Some 61 people on two KLM flights tested positive for Covid-19 and have been quarantined at a hotel near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport while they have further tests, Dutch officials said.
The Netherlands is currently struggling with a record-breaking surge in cases. An extended partial lockdown comes into force there on Sunday evening.
The new Omicron variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on 24 November.
‘Excellent science’
A statement by the South African foreign ministry on Saturday strongly criticised the travel bans.
“Excellent science should be applauded and not punished,” it said.
The bans were “akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker”.
The statement added that the reaction had been completely different when new variants were discovered elsewhere in the world.
BBC
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