EU set to ban flights from southern Africa due to Covid variant

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a travel ban for southern Africa (Christian Hartmann/Pool Photo via AP)

The European Union’s executive has said it wants to stop air travel from southern Africa to counter the spread of a new Covid-19 variant.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she “proposes, in close coordination with the member states, to activate the emergency brake to stop air travel from the southern African region”.