Britain said on Friday that a newly identified coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa was considered by scientists to be the most significant one yet found and so it needed to ascertain whether or not it made vaccines ineffective.
Top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday that a ban on flights from southern Africa was a possibility and the United States was rushing to gather data on the new COVID-19 variant.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is on the frontline with the army fighting rebellious Tigrayan forces in the northeastern Afar region, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting reported on Friday.
Japan will tighten border controls for people arriving from six African nations from midnight (1500 GMT on Friday) after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa.
Global authorities have reacted with alarm to a coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU, Britain and India among those announcing stricter border controls as scientists seek to determine if the mutation is vaccine-resistant.