A health worker talks to people as they wait to register next to the Transvaco coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine train, at the Springs train station on the East Rand, South Africa, August 30, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS)
Defending a ban on flights from several African countries including South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that the lesson of COVID was that early action was essential.
The UK Health Security Agency said that the variant - called B.1.1.529 - has a spike protein that was dramatically different to the one in the original coronavirus that COVID-19 vaccines are based on.
Officials have advised the government on the need to act swiftly and pre-emptively in case the concerns over the impact of the variant are borne out, even though it could take weeks to generate all the information needed about its characteristics.