Britain's daily Covid cases breached 50,000 today for the first time in a month and deaths crept up — as scientists warned the super-mutant Botswana variant could already be in the country.
Department of Health figures show there were 50,091 new cases in the UK in the last 24 hours, up 13 per cent on the previous week.
It marks the first time they had topped 50,000 since October 21 and follows a fortnight of growth, driven mostly by children and young adults.
Some 160 deaths were also registered, which was up two per cent on the same time the previous week when 157 were recorded.
But latest hospitalisations data showed they had fallen 11 per cent after 730 people were admitted to wards with the virus on November 22.
Health chiefs have credited the booster programme with drops in hospitalisations and deaths, which has bolstered the protection of the older age groups who are more vulnerable to the virus. Cases are also falling in the over-60s.
It came as UK scientists warned the 'worst ever' Covid variant could already be in Britain. The head of variant tracking in the UK, Professor Sharon Peacock, said it was 'likely to be transmitted into the UK at some point' if it wasn't here already.
The mutant strain has already been spotted in three continents in just two weeks — including in Europe where a case was today confirmed in Belgium.
Most cases are in South Africa where infections have spiked 93 per cent in a day. Scientists are worried that its 'constellation' of 32 mutations could make it ultra transmissible and more able to resist vaccine-induced immunity than any other variant.
Britain, Germany, Italy and a slew of other nations have imposed travel bans on six nations in southern Africa to stop it arriving on their shores.
Passengers arriving at Heathrow today after the South Africa flight ban was announced (it is not clear where these particular passengers had travelled from)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data estimated around 862,300 people caught the virus on any given day in the week up to November 20, up 4.5 per cent on the 824,900 the week before
The ONS figures show the proportion of people testing positive increased for those in school Year 12 to age 24 years and those aged 25 to 34 years last week
But today, passengers arriving in the UK from Johannesburg - the capital of the province of Gauteng where the variant was first identified - were subjected to 'no additional precautions', according to one of the people on the flight - one of three arriving at Heathrow before the ban comes into force.
The UK's lax contrasted with the approach in the Netherlands, where a video showed passengers arriving in Amsterdam being told they would not be allowed to leave the plane. They will be tested before being allowed to go home.
Writer and political commentator Adam Schwarz tweeted: 'A friend arrived in London this morning on one of the last flights from South Africa. Health officials met the plane, but no additional precautions are being taken for the hundreds of passengers.
'The captain read out a statement ''advising'' self-isolation and further tests. But it's at the discretion of passengers and it's not legally enforceable. Passengers then got on the airport shuttle to baggage reclaim, mixing with dozens of other flights. No testing was offered.'
Mr Javid has urged people arriving from red list countries to take PCR tests on day 2 and day 8 – even if they are vaccinated - and isolate at home, along with the rest of their household.
In Cape Town, shocked tourists told how they burst into tears when they were told South Africa had been 'red listed' over the new strain.
When the news was broken to them when they touched down at 8.06am on the British Airways flight BA43 from Heathrow Airport there was extreme anger and upset about the change of rules.
Digital marketer Anna DeMarigny, 64, from Galway, Ireland, had flown into Cape Town for 10 days to say a final goodbye to her terminally ill best friend and was very emotional before she arrived.
She said: 'My daughter Sasha is due to fly to visit me in Ireland on December 13 from San Francisco with her baby son Sebastian who is a one-year-old little baby boy of the pandemic.
'I cannot go into quarantine in a hotel for 10 days when I return and not see her or my grandchild. I just can't. I feel sick. I am going to have to cut short my stay with my friend who is dying.
'I'll have to spend a couple of hours with her only and then tell her I can't spend more time with her and get back to this airport and try to find a way home before my daughter arrives from the USA.
'My daughter works in San Francisco and is bringing her baby to meet his family for the first time so I cannot be in quarantine so I will have to say my short goodbyes to my lovely friend and get home.
'I am very angry but there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. It is not how I would have wanted to say goodbye to my friend. I can't believe all this happened overnight with us all oblivious,' she said.
Father-of-six Tony Haupt, 77, from Oxford, had just touched down to visit 5 of his children who live in Cape Town and was furious when he was told about the red listing and the need to quarantine on return.
Retired Tony said: 'I was supposed to stay here for a week and then get back to England for my daughter's university graduation which is exactly 10 days after I get back to the UK and I just cannot miss that.
'I have to be there for Charlie, 23, when she graduates as it didn't happen last year due to Covid so I will have to make lots of unplanned changes to my travel plans right away and just hope I get back in time.
'You telling me about the red listing and the quarantine and the sheer cost is the first I have heard about it and it sounds to me like a knee jerk reaction and shows once again this Government's incompetence.
'I am bloody furious and after a long day travelling and overnight spent in the air this is just not the news I want to hear on touch down and I am struggling to control my anger to be really honest.
'I have been double jabbed and had my booster and after going through all that and being told I am triple locked as safe I am now told I am going to have to pay a fortune to go into quarantine' he fumed.
Six Southern African countries Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa have been added to the UK and much of Europe's red list due to the Covid scare.
A married couple, who refused to be named, were travelling with their two young daughters aged 3 and 5 and were mortified when they heard about South Africa being red listed.
The husband stormed off furious and his wife said: 'Excuse him but it has got to him since we were told as we came through immigration and it has ruined our Christmas holiday.
'We have saved for two years to come out so our daughters can meet family and friends for the first time and this has just shattered our dreams as we can foresee a nightmare ahead.
'If the four of us have to pay to quarantine in a hotel when we go home it will cost us nearly £10,000 to be imprisoned in a hotel which is far more than this holiday is costing us.
'Quite frankly we haven't got the money so we are praying our holiday insurance will pay. We are keeping this from our girls because we don't want to spoil their holiday' she said.
There is huge concern about a new Covid variant which may be far more resistant to the vaccine and may be far more infectious than the variants that have gone before so far.
There are no direct flights to the UK from South Africa until at least 4am on Thursday and anyone arriving after that time will have to quarantine at their own expense on arrival.
It is believed passengers will have to pay £2350 to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days after news broke of the new variant known as B.1.1.529 first identified in a lab in South Africa.
South Africa's Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu expressed disappointment at the ban
She said the decision by the UK and European Union and Japan and Israel took place before the World Health Organisation could advise about the new Covid-19 strain of virus.
The Minister added: 'SA will continue working with policymakers in all the countries to ensure that the best possible interventions are put in place but we hope it's lifted soon.
Sisulu said she will attend the 24thSession of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organisation in Madrid from next Tuesday in a bid to open SA once again to tourists.
The Federated Hospitality Association of SA said it is hopeful the temporary ban will be lifted swiftly as scientists unpack the extent to which Covid-19 vaccines will be effective against the new variant, named B1.1.529.
National chair person Rosemary Anderson said: 'The UK is our largest inbound international market and last night's news by the British government has caused widespread disbelief and disappointment in our hospitality industry as we enter our peak festive season period'.
She said new variants were discovered all the time, often without making any major impact and was hopeful that advanced scientific capability will find that in this case there is little to worry about.
Anderson added: 'However, that does not mean that this decision by the British government won't have widespread repercussions, not only by dissuading British travellers to visit SA, but also due to the likely spin-off we will see from other key source markets if they take the UK's lead'.
In Cape Town, shocked tourists told how they burst into tears when they were told South Africa had been 'red listed' over the new strain. Pictured is Digital marketer Anna DeMarigny, 64, from Galway (left) and Tony Haupt, 77, from Oxford
SA's tourism and hospitality sector generates 1.5-million direct and indirect jobs and the new travel ban is a severe blow to a country just getting over severe lockdowns.
'There is no question that South Africans need to go out and get vaccinated as a matter of urgency,' Anderson added.
The Association of Southern African Travel Agents said the ban was a 'knee-jerk' reaction by the UK government that put airlines, hotels, travel businesses and travellers in a very difficult situation.
ASATA Chief Executive Officer Otto de Vries said: 'The world will unfortunately need to learn to live with Covid-19 variants for the foreseeable future.
'While we await more clarity, there is currently no scientific evidence that the new variant is more resistant to the vaccine'
The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association said it is too early to tell what the impact of the new variant will be but hopes the temporary ban will be lifted soon.
SATSACEO David Frost said: 'By imposing a blanket red list ban on Southern African countries as a 'precautionary' measure, the UK sends a signal to the world that they don't believe their vaccination programme will effectively deal with the variant, when we have seen that Covid-19 vaccines have performed their role to reduce the severity of hospitalisation and death from the virus'.
Mr Frost said: 'This news is devastating for our tourism industry not just because of the impact on British travellers headed to SA during the peak season but also because of the message it send out to the rest of the world.
'SA cannot consistently be punished for its advanced genomic sequencing abilities' he said.
SA infectious diseases expert Prof Marc Mendelson says there is nothing to indicate at this stage that the protection Covid-19 vaccines offer will change in the face of the latest variant.
South Africa has had 2.95m cases of Covid so far with 89,971 deaths with 114 reported in the last 24 hours along with 2465 new cases and has a successful recovery rate of 96.3%.
Sajid Javid warns 'the pandemic is far from over' amid fears of ANOTHER Christmas lockdown as No10 scientists admit super-mutant 'jab-dodging' Botswana variant 'could ALREADY be here' and Africa travel ban might be too late
Sajid Javid today warned the pandemic is 'far from over' after No10's experts admitted the new super-mutant, vaccine-evading Botswana Covid variant could already be in the UK and threatened another Christmas lockdown.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser of the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA), warned it is 'possible' the strain has already entered the UK and 'people are arriving every day' to the UK from South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel where the variant has been identified.
And Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), insisted people must be braced for a 'change in restrictions' amid growing alarm at the emergence of a 'worst-ever' variant that could make vaccines at least 40 per cent less effective.
The Health Secretary told MPs this morning no cases of the strain have been recorded in the UK but warned it is of 'huge international concern' and poses poses a 'substantial risk to public health'.
He said the Government is working quickly but with a 'high degree of uncertainty' and boosters could not be more important now.
Around 700 people per day have arrived from South Africa alone in the last two week since it the strain was first detected in the country.
The government acted last night to ban arrivals from South Africa and five other countries. Top experts said that if the strain spreads faster and can avoid current jabs it 'will get here'. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested that the aim of the travel restrictions is to 'slow things down in terms of potential entry into the country'.
But asked if it was possible the variant was already in the UK, Dr Hopkins said: 'Well, it's always possible. We have no cases identified whatsoever yet, nothing in our genome sequencing.
'So overall, I think the situation is reassuring in-country, but of course, people are arriving every day.'
The World Health Organization (WHO) is holding an emergency meeting later today to discuss the variant and is expected to name it the Greek letter 'Nu' in the coming days.
The B.1.1.529 variant has more than 30 mutations — the most ever recorded in a variant and twice as many as Delta — suggesting it could be more jab-resistant and transmissible than any version before it. It has caused an 'exponential' rise in infections in South Africa.
In response, Mr Javid announced last night that flights from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will be suspended from midday Friday and all six countries will be added to the red list.
Israel was the first country to follow suit, also red-listing the six nations after a first case was detected in the country today.
This chart shows the proportion of cases that were the B.1.1.529 variant (blue) and Indian 'Delta' variant (red) over time in Guateng province in South Africa, where the virus is most prevalent. It suggests that the mutant strain could outcompete Delta in the province within weeks
The above slide shows the proportion of tests that picked up a SGTF mutation, a hallmark of the B.1.1.529. It suggests that the Covid variant may be spreading rapidly in the country. The slide was presented at a briefing today run by the South African Government
The above slide shows variants that have been detected by province in South Africa since October last year. It suggests B.1.1.529 is focused in Gauteng province. This was presented at a briefing today from the South African Government
The above shows the test positivity rate — the proportion of tests that picked up the virus — across Gauteng province. It reveals that there is an uptick of cases in the northern part of the province. It is not clear whether this could be driven by B.1.1.529
Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that flights from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will be suspended from midday Friday and all six countries will be added to the red list
Speaking in the House of Commons this morning, Mr Javid said it 'is highly likely that it has now spread to other countries'.
He said: 'We are concerned that this new variant may pose substantial risk to public health.
'The variant has an unusual large number of mutations.'
Yesterday the UK Health Security Agency classified B.1.1.529 as a new variant under investigation and the very technical group has designated it as a variant under investigation with very high priority.'
The Health Secretary added early indications show the current vaccines 'may be less effective against it'.
Earlier, Dr Susan Hopkins told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'The first look at it shows it has a variety of different mutations, it's got 30 different mutations that seem relevant, that's double what we had in Delta.
'And if you look at those mutations as mutations that increase infectivity, mutations that evades the immune response, both from vaccines and natural immunity, mutations that cause increased transmissibility, it's a highly complex mutation, there's new ones we haven't seen before, so we don't know how they're going to interact in common.
'So all of this makes it a pretty complex, challenging variant and I think we will need to learn a lot more about it before we can say for definite it's definitely the most complex variant before.'
She added: 'It is the most worrying we've seen.'
No cases have been detected in the UK so far but everyone who has returned from South Africa in the past 10 days will be contacted and asked to take a test.
