Bangladesh suspends travel from South Africa amid fears of new Covid-19 variant

Bangladesh on Saturday suspended travel from South Africa immediately, joining a growing list of countries banning travel to the country amid fears of the spread of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant, first detected there.

Bangladesh’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque said that they are aware of the emergence of the new variant and have decided to suspend travel from South Africa, bdnews24.com reported.

“This new variant is extremely aggressive and so we are suspending travel from South Africa immediately,” he said.

“We are also strengthening screening procedures at all airports and land ports,” he was quoted as saying in the report.