Live Reporting
Summary
- The UK imposes travel restrictions on six African countries over a new coronavirus variant
- The variant is highly mutated and there are concerns vaccines could be less effective against it
- A top UK health official called it "the most significant variant we have encountered to date"
- Uncertainty over the new variant has hit Asian stock markets
- Several European countries are considering new restrictions amid a fourth wave of cases
- Belgium's PM says the increase in cases has been worse than expected
The UK health secretary's decision to ban flights from South Africa over concerns of a new variant detected there "seems to have been rushed", South Africa's foreign ministry says.
"Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries," Naledi Pandor said in a statement.
He said the move had come before the World Health Organization (WHO) had issued any guidance on the matter, and that his country would work with the UK authorities to try to get the ban lifted as soon as possible.
The UK is South Africa's largest source for tourists outside of the continent, with more than 400,000 visitors arriving there per year before the pandemic.
Edited by Yvette Tan BBC
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