LATEST: Britain bans Zimbabwe travellers to curb coronavirus

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Britain on Thursday banned people travelling from Zimbabwe to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The ban which covers the rest of SADC nations comes at a Zimbabwe has recently recorded a surge in coronavirus cases pushing local health institutions to the brink.

The ban will be with effect from Saturday 9 January 2021 and remain in place for two weeks, the UK government said:

Entry into England will be banned to those who have travelled from or through any southern African country in the last 10 days, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Angola – as well as Seychelles and Mauritius. This does not include British and Irish Nationals, longer-term visa holders and permanent residents, who will be able to enter but are required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival along with their household.

The aggressive coronavirus variant that was initially detected in South Africa is now in Zimbabwe after the two countries open borders to travellers early December last year.

The British government has responded swiftly to new evidence showing an urgent need to halt travel from all southern African countries to help prevent the spread of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) variant identified in South Africa.

Entry into England will be banned to those who have travelled from or through any southern African country in the last 10 days.