The WHO on Friday cautioned against imposing travel restrictions due to the B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant, saying it would take weeks to understand the implications of the newly discovered strain.
The World Health Organization said its Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) was holding a meeting Friday to discuss the variant first detected through surveillance in South Africa.
As European nations began banning flights from South Africa, the UN health agency said countries should take a risk-based and scientific approach when considering travel curbs in light of the variant — but cautioned against restrictions.
“WHO is closely monitoring the recently reported variant B.1.1.529,” spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a media briefing in Geneva.
