Italy and Germany announced this Friday morning (26) the ban on travelers from African countries where a new variant of the potentially more transmissible coronavirus, B.1.1.529, was detected.
The measure follows a decision announced yesterday by the United Kingdom and Israel, and may be adopted throughout the European Union, according to a proposal also released this morning by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Speaking on the variant in the afternoon of Thursday (25), the technical leader of the WHO (World Health Organization) Maria van Kerkhove said that “it will still take a few weeks” to determine the exact risk of the new SARS mutant -Cov-2, but that there is concern because it has many changes in the protein S (from spike, or spike), used by coronavirus to enter human cells.
The problem with these mutations is that they make protein S very different from what was used in the development of vaccines currently in use, which could, in theory, reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines.
The WHO called an emergency meeting for 12:00 (local time, 8:00 in Brazil) this Friday (26), in which it will discuss the new variant, which should be named after a letter of the Greek alphabet —in order, the 13th letter, nu (pronounced niu).
Even without scientific evidence on the impact of the new variant, European governments are preferring to anticipate. “The newly discovered variant worries us, so we acted proactively and early,” stated the German Health Minister Jens Saphn.
There are still no sequenced cases in Europe, but in the United Kingdom alone, on average more than 500 passengers disembark per day from South Africa — those who arrived in the last ten days will be called for tests.
UNDERSTAND THE VARIANT, STILL UNDER ANALYSIS
The new variant of Covid, with multiple mutations and potentially more contagious, was detected in South Africa, a country that sees signs of a new wave of the pandemic. The announcement was made this Thursday (25) by scientists and the South African government.
The B.1.1.529 variant has an “extremely high” number of mutations and “we can see that it has the potential to spread very quickly,” virologist Túlio de Oliveira told an online press conference supervised by the African Ministry of Health. South.
In addition to the potential greater capacity for dissemination, there is also concern about mutations linked to a possible immune escape, that is, the possibility of reducing the effectiveness of vaccines. Despite this, scientists cannot make more precise statements about this.
Oliveira points out that there are more than 30 mutations in the S protein (spike), through which the virus binds to human cells to carry out the invasion, which makes this variant very different from the strains that circulate around the world.
Preliminary data indicate that the variant has increased rapidly in Gauteng province, the most populous in the country and which includes Pretoria and Johannesburg, and may already be present in the other eight provinces in the country.
According to Oliveira, genomic surveillance points out that B.1.1.529, in less than two weeks, already stands out in relation to infections by other Covid variants, right after “a devastating wave of Delta”.
Researchers claim that about 90% of new cases in Gauteng could be associated with the B.1.1.529 variant.
The NICD (National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa), however, does not attribute the growth of local cases to the new variant. More than 1,200 new cases in 24 hours were registered on Wednesday, up from 100 at the beginning of the month. The daily data from that farm, published by the NICD, already point to 2,465 new infections.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the “exponential” increase in infections was caused by this new variant, which represents “a major threat”.
“There are many variants, but some have no bearing on the evolution of the epidemic,” John Nkengasong, of the African Union Center for Disease Control and Prevention, commented at a press conference.
According to Phaahla, it is too early to say whether the government will need to impose tougher restrictions in response to the variant.
The emergence of this new strain “reinforces the fact that this invisible enemy we are dealing with is very unpredictable,” he added.
In addition to the new strain, the fear of a new pandemic wave by the end of the year is linked to low vaccination rates in the country. Only 35% of adults who could be vaccinated have completed the primary course of immunization.
restrictions around the world
Germany
From the night of this Friday (26), airlines will only be able to transport Germans into the country, and 14 days of quarantine will apply to everyone, including those who were vaccinated.
Italy
It banned entry into the country of anyone who has been to South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia or Eswatini in the past 14 days.
United Kingdom
Six African countries were added to the red list: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini, from 12:00 am (9:00 am in Brazil) this Friday (26) — passengers who have been in these countries in the last 14 days will only be able to enter if you are resident in the UK and Ireland.
Self-isolation for residents arriving from these countries will be mandatory and, starting on Sunday, must be done in hotels, under surveillance. Tests on the second and eighth day after landing are also compulsory.
Travelers who arrived from these countries in the last ten days will be asked to take tests.
Flights will be temporarily banned between these nations and the UK.
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