With countries trying to close their doors to the new coronavirus variant, southern African officials note that the West’s hoarding of vaccines helped create their struggle in the first place.
The UK’s decision to implement a flight ban that was announced before the World Health Organization convened on Friday, has South African travellers on tenterhooks. Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to convene the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) on Sunday to assess Covid.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has announced that flights from South Africa - as well as Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe - will be suspended from midday today.
Department of Health figures showed cases rose 13 per cent in a week, rising from the 44,242 reported last Friday. It marked the first time they had topped the milestone since October 21.