Berlin: After the discovery of a new Covid-19 variation designated B.1.1.529 in South Africa, Germany labelled it a "virus variant area" and decided to restrict all flights from the country, acting Minister of Health Jens Spahn stated.

According to Spahn, airlines would only be able to fly German nationals and permanent residents from (South Africa) from Friday night local time. In addition, all passengers entering Germany from South Africa will be quarantined for 14 days, even if they are completely vaccinated.

Travellers should now be much more cautious while entering the nation, he stated on Twitter. "We're concerned about the recently identified variant B.1.1.529, so we're taking action now." The last thing we need right now is another imported new version causing more issues." Germany is currently experiencing its fourth Covid-19 wave, with daily infections and the seven-day incidence rate reaching new highs. According to pr, the total number of Covid-19-related deaths has surpassed 100,000 since the outbreak began.

The European Commission also wants to restrict travel from the southern African region to the EU, proposing to "trigger the emergency brake to suspend air travel from the southern African region due to the variant of concern B.1.1.529," according to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

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