#CORONAVIRUS
South Africa Being Punished For Early COVID-19 Variant Detection – Ministry
Passengers queue to get a PCR test against the coronavirus disease before traveling
South Africa said on Saturday it was being punished for its advanced ability to detect new Coronavirus (COVID-19) variants early.
South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said this in a statement.
The allegation is coming as travel bans and restrictions imposed because of the new Omicron variant threaten to harm tourism and other sectors of the country’s economy.
South Africa has some of the world’s top epidemiologists and scientists, who have managed to detect emerging coronavirus variants and their mutations early on in their life cycle.
The Omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong.
“This latest round of travel bans is akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker,” the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said.
“Excellent science should be applauded and not punished,” the ministry said.
Many nations rushed on Friday and Saturday to announce travel curbs to South Africa and other countries in the region.
The foreign ministry noted that while the new variant was also detected in other countries, the global reaction to those countries have been “starkly different” to cases in southern Africa.
The new variant was first announced on Wednesday 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.
The foreign ministry noted that while the new variant was also detected in other countries, the global reaction to those countries have been “starkly different” to cases in southern Africa.
The new variant was first announced on Wednesday 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 the World Health Organisation 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. read more
“Our immediate concern is the damage that these restrictions are causing to families, the travel and tourism industries and business,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in the statement.
The government was engaging with countries that have imposed travel bans to persuade them to reconsider, it added.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the variant, saying they should take a “risk-based and scientific approach”.
Look Beyond Page Views To Build Profitable Media – DOPF Tells Online Publishers
Delta Police Arrest Three For Impersonating SGF Akume, Oborevwori’s Protocol Director To Defraud Community Leader Of N5.4m
Ebola Alert: 20 Key Facts As FG Traces 44 Contacts Over Suspected Case In FCT
I Never Asked Nigerians in Diaspora to Abandon Their Families — Peter Obi
‘If Buhari as a General Couldn’t End Insecurity, Spare Tinubu’ — Abdulaziz Yari
Tinubu Condoles With Ibori, Uduaghan Family Over Ex-Governor’s Death
DOPF Opens 2026 Annual Conference With Workshop On Digital Media Sustainability
Isoko South Flags Off Mega Empowerment, 4,000 Residents To Get N50,000 Each
Blackout Hits Four States as NUEE Shuts Down BEDC Facilities Over Welfare Dispute
Isoko North Chairman Empowers 5,000, Hails Oborevwori’s Grassroots Initiative
AI Courses In Nigeria Surge 93% As Critical Thinking Jumps 113% – Coursera Report 20262
DOPF Mourns Uduaghan, Recalls His 2021 Lecture On Niger Delta Economy
Delta Declares 3-Day Mourning For Ex-Gov Uduaghan, Flags To Fly At Half-Mast
Tompolo Mourns Uduaghan, Recalls Ex-Governor’s Role In Niger Delta Amnesty Programme
Uduaghan’s Death Painful Loss – Okowa Mourns Predecessor
