New Covid variant: WHO cautions against new travel curbs, says will take few weeks to understand the impact

• The B.1.1.529 variant was first detected in South Africa

• Cases of the variant have also been detected in Israel, Botswana and Hong Kong

• Scientists say the new variant is of major concern because of its high number of mutations

 The World Health Organisation (WHO) is meeting Friday to discuss the newly-identified COVID-19 variant, labelled B.1.1.529 by scientists. A WHO official said while it is of the view that it is appropriate to be concerned about it, it will still take several weeks to understand the new variant.

“Researchers are working to understand more about the mutations and what they potentially mean for how transmissible or virulent this variant is,” said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier, who added: “Early analysis shows that this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study.”.

The WHO has, however, cautioned against imposing new travel restrictions, saying a risk-based and a scientific approach should instead be adopted.

“WHO recommends that countries continued to apply a risk-based and a scientific approach when implementing travel measures… implementing travel measures is being cautioned against,” Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva as the WHO started a key meeting on the new variant.

“After Friday meeting on B.1.1.529 variant, WHO will share further guidance for governments on the action they can take,” another spokesperson of the UN health body earlier stated.

The WHO is meeting amid growing concerns across the world over the new coronavirus variant that appears to be triggering a spike in COVID-19 cases in southern African countries. The variant was first detected in South Africa this week and scientists there Thursday said B.1.1.529 has a large number of mutations. As per varying estimates, there could be between 30 to 50 mutations in the spike protein of the B.1.1.529 variant. The scientists have also warned that the variant could be more infectious than Delta and more resistant to existing vaccines. 

Top points on B.1.1.529 COVID-19 variant:

1. BioNTech/Pfizer said it was studying how well the coronavirus vaccine protects against the new COVID variant and the data may be released in two weeks. “We expect more data from the laboratory tests in two weeks at the latest,” a spokesperson of BioNTech said, adding that “these data will provide more information about whether B.1.1.529 could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally.”
2. Britain has said that the newly identified variant has been labelled by scientists as the most significant one to have been discovered yet. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the new worst-ever super-mutant Covid variant could make existing vaccines at least 40 per cent less effective.
3. Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the new variant was more contagious than the Delta strain, adding: “We are currently on the verge of a state of emergency. Our main principle is to act fast, strong and now.”
4. South African virologist Tulio de Oliveira said at a news conference Thursday that the new variant was a reason of concern for the African country. “Unfortunately we have detected a new variant, which is a reason for concern in South Africa. It’s, unfortunately, causing a resurgence of infections,” he said. South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla has called the variant a “major threat”, stating it was a “serious concern” and was behind an “exponential” increase in reported cases. South Africa has seen the daily cases rise from 106 earlier this month to 1,200 on Wednesday, and to 2,465 a day later. As per some reports, South Africa has seen a tenfold surge in the number of daily cases since the start of November.
5. The cases of the B.1.1.529 variant have so far been found in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel. According to de Oliveira, the cases in these countries were detected in travellers from South Africa. Israel’s health ministry said the variant was discovered in a person who returned from Malawi, with “two more cases of people returning from abroad” placed in quarantine. Belgium has also reported two suspected cases of the new variant.
6. The WHO is meeting today to discuss if it should designate B.1.1.529 as a variant of “interest” or of “concern”. For now, the WHO has said that it is “closely monitoring” the reported variant. “Early analysis shows that this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study,” the WHO stated. At its meeting today, the WHO is also expected to give the variant a Greek name like the dominant Delta strain.
7. A number of countries have, meanwhile, imposed a ban on travel from South Africa and several other southern African countries in view of the possible threat from the variant. These include the United Kingdom (South Africa and its neighbours Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana); Germany (South Africa and ‘probably neighbouring nations’); Israel, Italy, Austria, Singapore and Malaysia (seven countries); Czech Republic (several southern African countries) and Japan, which has decided to tighten border controls for visitors from South Africa and five other African countries. France has also banned all flights from southern Africa for 48 hours, said Health Minister Olivier Veran. 
8. The European Union is also mulling a bloc-wide ban on travel from southern Africa following the discovery of the new COVID-19 variant. 
9. South Africa has, meanwhile, described as ‘rushed’ the move by Britain and other countries to impose a ban on flights from southern African countries.
10. The Indian government has also asked all states and Union Territories to be cautious about international passengers travelling from or through Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong following the detection of the new variant there. Official sources said so far, no case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 has been reported in India. The MEA stated: “This is a developing incident. We just saw a briefing by the WHO. I don’t have any immediate information on the steps that we are taking. This is an issue more for our Health authorities and Civil Aviation authorities…”
11. According to scientists, many 10 mutations have been detected in the new variant, compared to two for Delta and three for Beta, which was also discovered in South Africa. The Delta variant was first detected in India and went on to become the most dominant strain across the globe.
12. WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said that it will be known only after a few weeks of analysis what the impact of the variant has been on current vaccines. “The concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves,” Kerkhove said.
13. South African scientist Penny Moore said the number of mutations this variant has will make it “complicated” for them to neutralise it. “This variant contains many mutations that we are not familiar with,” she stated.
14. The concerns over the new COVID-19 variant have spooked financial markets and oil prices and have also dealt a blow to the global recovery. Confidence in Asian markets has sunk amid the existing psychological pressure over the US Federal Reserve’s possible move on tightening of its monetary policy in order to check surging inflation.
15. In a related development, passengers on a flight from South Africa were not allowed to deboard in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, amid concerns about the new COVID-19 variant. It is likely that the passengers would be allowed to deboard after undergoing testing and then sent into quarantine.