A new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa is leading to a new round of travel restrictions just as many had finally begun to ease.
The risks of the variant, called omicron, are largely unknown. But the World Health Organisation has called it a variant of concern and governments around the world are not waiting for scientists to better understand the variant to impose flight bans and other travel restrictions.
On Friday, European Union nations agreed to impose a ban on travel from southern Africa to counter its spread. The 27-nation bloc acted within hours upon the advice of the EU executive, which said all countries needed to be extra cautious in dealing with the variant until it was clear how serious a threat the variant posed.
