The highly infectious strain of coronavirus that emerged in South Africa has been classed as a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation.
It is the fifth Covid mutation to be given this designation, and has been assigned the Greek name Omicron.
The WHO said that preliminary evidence suggests the variant,
previously referred to as B.1.1.529, has an increased risk of reinfection and may spread more rapidly than other strains.It added: ‘The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November 2021.
‘This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning.
‘Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs (Variants of Concern).
‘The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa.’
The variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on Wednesday.
It has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
The WHO says it will take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant.
It comes as countries impose travel bans on countries in southern Africa in a bid to contain the variant.
Earlier today EU Member States agreed to introduce restrictions on all travel into the bloc from 7 countries in the Southern Africa region: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe.
US President Joe Biden announced a similar ban shortly after, adding Malawi to the list as well.
It comes after the UK placed six countries from the southern African region on its travel red list:
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and NamibiaThe measure means British citizens returning from those countries must quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 14 nights, at the cost of around £2,000.
South Africa’s health minister Dr Joe Phaahla criticised the UK for implementing an ‘unjustified’ travel ban without consultation.
Boris Johnson spoke to president Cyril Ramaphosa afterwards, with a Downing Street spokesperson saying the two leaders ‘discussed challenges posed globally by the new COVID-19 variant, and the ways to work together to deal with it and reopen international travel’.
Earlier, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there is ‘huge international concern’ over the strain.
Although there have been no cases in the UK yet, ministers are facing calls to go further to prevent a wave of Omicron arriving in Britain while a Delta surge is ongoing.Panic was sparked when Belgium became the first country in Europe to announce a case.
Scientists are worried it has the potential to evade immunity built up by vaccination or prior infection.
The UK has been warned to ‘be ready for the possibility of a change in the restrictions’.
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said more needs to be learned about the new variant to assess the threat it poses, but new restrictions could not be ruled out.
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