Health Minister Joe Phaahla says there is a possibility of an inter-provincial travel ban this festive season, as a result of the increasing COVID-19 cases.
Britain on Thursday said it would ban travel from six southern African countries, after South Africa detected a new Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations.
‘South Africa variant’ now Beta as WHO switches to Greek alphabet Updated
AFP
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Covid-19 variants are to be known by letters of the Greek alphabet to avoid stigmatising nations where they were first detected, the World Health Organization announced Monday.
AFP
The new system applies to variants of concern the most troubling of which four are in circulation and the second-level variants of interest being tracked. They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO s Covid-19 technical lead.
Under the new system, the variants of concern take on the following names: the hitherto so-called British variant B.1.1.7 becomes Alpha; the B.1.351 first discovered in South Africa becomes Beta, while the Brazilian P.1 becomes Gamma.