New virus variant sparks global alarm, travel curbs

Singapore joined a string of countries restricting travel to and from a number of African destinations, following the detection of a heavily mutated variant of the coronavirus.

As scientists raced to find out if the B.1.1.529 mutant was more deadly, transmissible or capable of evading existing vaccines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was discussing its risks, deciding whether it should be designated a variant of "concern" or "interest".

So far, the new variant appears to have been responsible for a sudden surge of infections in South Africa, accounting for about 90 per cent of all new cases in Gauteng province, the epicentre of the new outbreak, said Dr Tulio de Oliveira, director of South Africa's Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation.

As at yesterday, at least eight cases involving the variant have been reported elsewhere - four in Botswana, two in Hong Kong, and one each in Israel and Belgium.

The cases in Hong Kong, Israel and Belgium were linked to travellers who had recently been in South Africa, Malawi and Egypt, respectively.

The new variant has sparked international concern because of the unusually large number of mutations - 32 to the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein that is the main target of the body's immune responses, and 10 on the ACE2 receptor that helps create an entry point for the virus to infect human cells.

"The concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves," said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19. "It will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has."

Many similar mutations found in earlier variants, such as the Alpha and Delta ones, were linked to higher transmissibility and greater ability to evade infection-blocking antibodies, scientific journal Nature reported. The B.1.1.529 is likely to be called Nu, from the Greek alphabet, if the WHO gives it a name.

"Lots of mutations do not necessarily mean very bad," Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown University Centre for Global Health Science and Security, said. Similar concerns had been raised about an earlier variant found in South Africa, but it was never listed as one of interest or concern, the Guardian reported.

The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen urged Europe, which is facing a resurgence of the pandemic, to act "swiftly and decisively" in the face of the new mutation.

She called on member states to "activate the emergency brake on travel from countries in southern Africa and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant".

Britain's health secretary Sajid Javid yesterday described the new variant as "of huge international concern" and "may pose substantial risk to public health", after his country banned flights from six African nations.

Singapore will from 11.59pm today ban all visitors with recent travel history to seven African countries.

Malaysia followed suit, with returning citizens and work permit holders to undergo 14 days' quarantine. The Philippines halted flights from South Africa and other affected territories until Dec 15. Japan and Taiwan also tightened quarantine measures.

The WHO, meanwhile, warned against hastily imposing new travel restrictions over the variant

Global equities tumbled, with travel stocks among the biggest decliners. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index slid to the lowest since early last month, with Japan and Hong Kong leading losses in the region. Europe's equity benchmark was on track for the biggest drop in 13 months. The Dow also slid 2.5 per cent in early trading.