The new variant – of which there are still very few confirmed cases in total – is characterized by an unusual number of mutations.
The Government of South Africa affirmed this Saturday that the cascade of drastic international prohibitions after the detection of the omicron variant is “like punishing” the country for its advanced scientific surveillance, in addition to noting that not all countries with cases are being subjected to restrictions. .
“This latest round of travel bans is like punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and for its ability to detect variants faster. Excellent science should be applauded, not punished,” said the South African Executive this Saturday through a statement. from its Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation.
“We also note that the new variants have been detected in other countries. Those countries do not have recent ties with South Africa. It is worth noting that the reaction to these countries is markedly different from the cases in South Africa,” lamented the South African wallet in your message.
The Ministry also stressed that the World Health Organization (WHO) called on world leaders not to act on impulse and warned against imposing travel restrictions.
“Although we respect the right of all countries to take the necessary preventive measures to protect their citizens, we need to remember that this pandemic requires collaboration and shared knowledge,” said the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, cited in the release.
“Our immediate concern is the damage these restrictions are causing to families, the travel and tourism industry and businesses,” Pandor added.
The discovery of this new variant, identified as B.1.1.529 and baptized with the Greek letter omicron by the WHO, was announced on Thursday by scientists and health authorities in South Africa, based on samples taken in mid-November.
At the time of the announcement, infections had already been identified in Botswana and Hong Kong (China), but later detections were added in Israel, in Belgium (a case of a traveler from Egypt with a stopover in Turkey and with no apparent links to the south Africa) and a case is suspected in Germany.
The new variant – of which there are still very few confirmed cases in total – is characterized by an unusual number of mutations (slightly more than thirty) whose impact has yet to be studied.
Despite the limited information available (due to early detection) and the relatively low number of confirmed cases to date, many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, the nations of the European Union and the United States, quickly announced drastic travel restrictions for southern African countries. (I)
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