Jordan, Malaysia detects cases of Indian COVID-19 variant

Malaysia has detected its first case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India, Health Minister Adham Baba said on Sunday, days after imposing a ban on flights from India.

The variant, named B.1.617, was detected in an Indian national screened at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, he said.

***FILE PHOTO: Medical workers collect swab samples from people at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing centre in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng***

The World Health Organisation has described it as a “variant of interest”, suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity.

Malaysia, which is facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, on Wednesday banned flights to and from India and prohibited travellers from any Indian destination from entering the country to prevent the spread of the new variant.

However, Jordan detected three cases of the Indian COVID-19 variant in people who had not travelled, the health minister told state-owned Al Mamlaka TV.

“Two cases were recorded in Amman and one in Zarqa in people who did not travel, which confirms that the emergence of mutated cases does not necessarily have to come from outside, but rather as a result of specific reproduction,” Minister Firas Al-Hawari told Al Mamlaka TV.

***A patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), lies in bed at an intensive care unit inside a hospital in Amman, Jordan March 23, 2021. REUTERS/Muath Freij***

Meanwhile, Portugal has extended until May 16 flight restrictions that stop non-essential travel from countries including Brazil with high coronavirus incidence rates, and added India to the list due to the rapid rise in infections. Portugal government had said on Saturday, that travellers from countries where 500 or more cases per 100,000 people have been reported over a 14-day period can only enter Portugal if they have a valid reason, such as for work or healthcare.

Nigeria will also ban travellers coming from India, Brazil and Turkey because of concerns about the rampant spread of coronavirus in those countries, a presidential committee said on Sunday.

“Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited Brazil, India or Turkey within Fourteen (14) days preceding travel to Nigeria, shall be denied entry into Nigeria,” Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, said in a statement. The ban will take effect from May 4, the statement said.