Africa Business Radio

Israel says it will ban the entry of all foreigners into the country, making it the first nation to shut its borders completely in response to a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says the ban, pending government approval, would last 14 days. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked says working hypotheses are that the variant is already in nearly every country. Dr Ran Balicer, head of the government’s advisory panel on COVID-19, told Israel’s Kan public radio the new measures were necessary for the fog of war surrounding the new variant, saying it was better to act early and strictly to prevent its spread.