As COVID-19 deaths worldwide approach two million, the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee issued recommendations today, Friday, regarding the emergence of more contagious variants of the virus, which could lead to greater spread of the pandemic.
In the UK, borders have been closed to arrivals from all South American countries and Portugal starting today due to a variant detected in Brazil, which the WHO has described as "concerning." Meanwhile, the number of infections in Germany has surpassed two million, prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to direct a "significant" tightening of restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
In a related development, Portugal has decided to impose a new nationwide lockdown starting today, while France will expand its curfew starting Saturday and will require arrivals from non-EU countries to present a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival. Lebanon has begun implementing a strict total lockdown for 11 days, after a steady increase in cases, with hospitals reaching their maximum capacity. The WHO previously indicated that a recent variant originating from the Brazilian Amazon, which Japan announced it detected on Sunday, could impact the immune response.
