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Travellers stranded in S. Africa due to variant

Reuters Videos
Updated

The travel restrictions were imposed after South Africa announced it has identified a new COVID-19 variant.

The variant was first announced on Wednesday (November 24) by a team of scientists in South Africa who said they had detected a variant that could possibly evade the body's immune response and make it more transmissible.

On Friday (November 26), the World Health Organization named it Omicron and designated it as a "variant of concern" - its most serious level - saying preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection.