New travel restrictions: Mandatory 10-day quarantine upon entry to Denmark from these countries

Danish authorities announced new travel restrictions at a press conference on Friday afternoon as a result of the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus, which has been named B.1.1.529.

The new travel restrictions, which come into effect at midnight tonight, include mandatory home isolation for ten days if entering Denmark from South Africa and six neighboring countries: Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.

According to the authorities, the worrying thing is that the new variant contains 35 mutations, which is a large number compared to other variants. For example, the Delta variant contains 10-15 mutations. There are also concerns that the new variant may be more contagious and resistant to vaccines.

According to official statements at the press conference, the new variant has so far appeared only in a small number of people in Africa and Asia, and Belgium has recorded the first case of infection in Europe.