Netherlands bans flights from South Africa over new COVID variant

Flights from southern Africa are banned in the Netherlands from noon November 26 due to concerns about the new coronavirus variant, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said, Report informs referring to NL Times.

The countries involved will also be added to the list of very high-risk countries. Passengers on flights that are still en route from the region will be tested at Schiphol and must then be quarantined.

The countries involved are Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

According to De Jonge, the new mutation is a ‘reason for concern,’ but a lot is still unclear. “This is a precautionary measure to prevent the introduction of a new variant that may be more contagious,” De Jonge said.

He emphasized that the European Member States are working together.

The UK and Israel have suspended travel of their citizens to six African countries. Following this, the European Commission also announced a possible ban on flights from South Africa to EU countries.