Coronavirus: Countries shut borders over new South Africa variant

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More countries are tightening their travel restrictions after a new coronavirus variant was identified in South Africa earlier this week.

The UK, Singapore and Japan are among those rushing in stricter quarantine measures and banning flights from South Africa and neighbouring countries.

The EU is proposing to ban flights from the region across the whole bloc.

Scientists still have much to learn about the variant, but say they are very worried about it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it will take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as scientists work to determine how transmissible it is.

The variant is very different to the others that have emerged so far. Scientists have said it is the most heavily mutated version yet, which means vaccines, which were designed using the original strain from Wuhan, may not be as effective.

The new variant is yet to be given a more memorable name, like Delta or Beta, and right now is known as B.1.1.529. The WHO is expected to name it on Friday, and announce whether it is a variant of concern or just a variant of interest.