UK Bans Entries from South Africa After new COVID-19 strain different to UK found

The United Kingdom on Thursday has banned the entry of passengers travelling from South Africa after a second new variant of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, allegedly originating from South Africa was found in the country, said the Department of Transport.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the UK had identified a second new variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the COVID-19 disease in two patients who had been in contact with people that arrived from South Africa.

“From 9 am Thursday 24 December 2020, visitors arriving into England who have been in or transited through South Africa in the previous 10 days will not be permitted entry and direct flights will be banned,” the statement read. 

According to the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the new strain of COVID-19 was first discovered at Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa in early October, however, specialists believe that the new mutation could have started spreading as early as late August.