(UTV | COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka has banned travellers from a number of African countries because of the new Covid variant.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that travellers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini have been banned.
The new variant was first detected in South Africa on 24 November, and has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.
A number of countries have already banned or restrict travel to and from southern Africa.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the number of cases of this variant, initially named B.1.1.529, appeared to be increasing in almost all of South Africa’s provinces.