Israel bans arrivals from most of Africa after new coronavirus variant detected

Israel on Friday imposed a travel ban covering most of Africa after the detection of a new variant of the coronavirus in South Africa that could be more contagious than the Delta strain.

"We are currently on the verge of a state of emergency," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, according to a statement from his office, before expanding a ban he announced on Thursday on the entry of foreigners from seven African countries and Israelis' travel to them. Under the broader restrictions, all African nations, except those in North Africa, were added to Israel's "red list" of high-risk countries. Bennett, who met Israeli health experts before the edicts were announced, said there were a few cases of the new variant reported in Israel.

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