COVID-19 PANDEMIC

OCTA fellow calls for intensified restrictions with South Africa, Botswana amid new variant

An OCTA Research fellow on Friday called for an escalation of restrictions with South Africa and Botswana amid the detection of a new coronavirus variant that is believed to be more transmissible.

“I personally think we should escalate whatever restrictions we have with South Africa and Botswana at the moment,” Dr. Guido David said on Twitter.

South Africa is currently included in the Philippines' "green list" or nations and jurisdictions considered "low risk" based on COVID-19 incidence rate and case count.

Botswana, meanwhile, is under "yellow list" as of November 12, 2021. Travelers from these areas may be allowed to enter the Philippines, subject to applicable quarantine and testing protocols.

David said the new variant may be a potential cause for concern.

The B.1.1.529 was found to have at least 10 mutations, compared to two for Delta or three for Beta, and is being blamed for a surge of infections in South Africa.

“At this stage, all we can say is this could definitely be a potential for serious concern. The concern is this virus is now radically different to the original,” David said.

“We will monitor this in terms of infectiousness and vaccine escape,” he added.

The United Kingdom has said that it will ban travel from six southern African countries due to an early indication that it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant. —KBK, GMA News