Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, says the EU is looking at introducing a travel ban for countries from southern Africa in a bid to protect member states from the new variant.

Nick Edser
Business reporter

Shares in airlines have fallen sharply as investors react to news of the new Covid variant and fresh travel curbs.

IAG, the owner of British Airways, saw its shares sink by about 15% as trading got under way in London, while shares in EasyJet dropped 12%.

Shares in travel company Tui were down 10%.

The falls helped to push the FTSE 100 index of leading UK shares down more than 3%.

Similar falls were seen elsewhere in Europe, with Germany's Dax share index and France's Cac-40 index also dropping by about 3%.

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If you missed him on BBC Breakfast earlier, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that there are no new variant cases in the UK yet, but urges travellers arriving from red list countries to take NHS PCR tests on arrival.

Image source, Gett

If you're just joining us, welcome, and here's a round-up of key developments following the news that a new Covid variant has been detected in South Africa:

• Since the variant, known as B.1.1.529, was first identified, 60 cases have been confirmed in South Africa, Hong Kong, Botswana and Israel
• It has been described as "the worst one we've seen so far", and there is concern it has the potential to evade immunity
• All flights to England from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini are being suspended

• UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said scientists are "deeply concerned" and the decision to ban flights from the southern African countries was made "to protect, as best we can, our borders"
• Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) are meeting South African officials today to assess the evolving situation in the country

We've got more from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who tells BBC Breakfast the UK can't take risks with the new coronavirus variant "which could well defeat the vaccine".

He says scientists need more time to investigate the variant following the government's decision put six south African countries on the travel red list.

Shapps says he hopes the move is a "pause rather than going backwards".

He's then asked: When will we know if this is more concerning than other variants we've seen?

"It does take usually weeks to check these things out - you have to grow the culture and sequence it all," he says, adding that they will have another review in three weeks' time.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

The UK is taking a "safety-first approach" by putting six southern African countries on the travel red list, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says.

It comes after South Africa's foreign ministry said the decision appears to have been "rushed" and urged the UK to reconsider.

Shapps says the decision was made within an hour or two of a meeting between the UK's chief medical officers yesterday afternoon, who agreed it was the “most significant variant they had encountered” with a lot of potential to escape the vaccine.

Early action will buy us more time, he says, but we "can never stop these things".

You can read more about the UK's updated travel rules here.

The new coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa has been discovered in Israel, Israeli media report.

The variant - known as B.1.1.529 - was detected in a person who returned to Israel from the southern African country of Malawi, according to the reports, which quote the country's health ministry.

Two other suspected cases relating to travellers who have just returned to the country are reportedly awaiting test results.

All of the travellers are said to have been fully vaccinated.

The new variant is highly mutated and there are concerns that vaccines could be less effective against it.

Image source, Reuters

Vaccines will "almost certainly" be less effective against the new coronavirus variant, says Prof James Naismith, a structural biologist from the University of Oxford.

But he says vaccines will still be effective, adding: "It is bad news but it's not doomsday."

Prof Naismith says mutations in the variant suggest it may spread more quickly.

But he says transmissibility "is not just as simple as 'this amino acid does this'" and is determined by how mutations worked together.

If the variant spreads more quickly, it will inevitably reach the UK, he says - the travel ban will delay its arrival by perhaps a few more weeks.

But he says we shouldn't despair: vaccines will be effective, there are new medicines emerging that will "almost certainly" not be affected by the mutation, and we've got other ways of controlling the disease in hospitals.

Read more: What do we know about this new variant?

Image source, Reuters

The shadow home secretary said he welcomed the government's "swift action" on changing England's travel rules in response to the new coronavirus variant.

Labour's Nick Thomas-Symonds told BBC Breakfast the news of the new variant was "extremely concerning".

He says the government now needs to outline its plans for genomic sequencing of the variant and the future of the Test and Trace operation.

NHS Test and Trace was set up to identify close contacts of people who had tested positive for Covid, but has been highly criticised as ineffective and expensive.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK health secretary's decision to ban flights from South Africa over concerns of a new variant detected there "seems to have been rushed", South Africa's foreign ministry has said.

"Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries," Naledi Pandor says in a statement.

She says the move had come before the World Health Organization (WHO) had issued any guidance on the matter, and that his country would work with the UK authorities to try to get the ban lifted as soon as possible.

The UK is South Africa's largest source for tourists outside of the continent, with more than 400,000 visitors arriving there per year before the pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

The president of the Czech Republic has tested positive for Covid-19 and has returned to hospital - just hours after he was discharged following weeks of treatment for an unspecified liver condition.

Milos Zeman, 77, has been vaccinated three times and hospital officials have said he currently shows no symptoms.

He had been due to appoint a new prime minister, Petr Fiala, later today.

Zeman was first admitted to hospital in October, a day after an election that led to the defeat of the government led by Andrej Babis.

In May, the president lit a candle to commemorate the almost 30,000 victims of Covid-19 in the country at a vigil at Prague Castle in the capital.

As of today, the Czech Republic has recorded more than two million cases and 32,523 coronavirus-related deaths.

Speaking to reporters about new travel restrictions, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid says "we don't know enough" yet about the new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa, but that it's right to "remain cautious".

He says the decision to ban flights to England from several southern African countries is about "being cautious.... and trying to protect, as best we can, our borders".

Israel has become the latest country to announce tough travel restrictions on southern African countries amid concerns over the spread of a new coronavirus variant.

It has blocked entry from seven countries, including South Africa, and banned its own citizens from visiting them.

It follows the UK saying it will impose a travel ban on six African countries over the spread of the variant, which scientists fear could be far more transmissible.

Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams says he is going to hospital in Italy after testing positive for Covid for the second time in a month.

"Here I am, just arrived in Milano and I've tested positive for the second time in a month for Covid. So it's off to hospital for me," he wrote on Instagram.

Adams - who is reportedly vaccinated - had previously tested positive on 31 October, though he didn't have any symptoms.

Image source, EPA

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the government succeeding her to take quick, decisive measures against Covid as the country grapples with rising cases and deaths.

Germany reported a record 351 Covid deaths yesterday, taking its total official death toll past 100,000.

Merkel - who leaves office next month - said "every day counts" and implored Germany's new government to bring in more restrictions on contact.

Germany is in the grip of a fourth wave of coronavirus. Cases are rising rapidly and many hospitals are full.

The new coronavirus variant is the most significant scientists have discovered so far, a top UK health official says.

Scientists fear the variant - known as B.1.1.529 - could be more transmissible and better able to evade vaccines.

Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says: "This is the most significant variant we have encountered to date and urgent research is underway to learn more about its transmissibility, severity and vaccine-susceptibility."

She says scientists are looking into "what public health actions may limit the impact of B.1.1.529".

The UK is rushing in strict travel restrictions for South Africa and five neighbouring countries to halt the spread of the new strain.

Image source, Reuters

Belgium's prime minister says his country is facing a surge in coronavirus cases far worse than feared.

Alexander De Croo says the spike exceeds even "the most pessimistic curves" drawn last week by experts.

"The latest data gathered show that the... situation has considerably deteriorated," he says, even after imposing tougher Covid rules last week.

The government is holding urgent talks later on Friday on further measures.

There were protests in the capital Brussels over the weekend against the measures.

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, BBC News Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

Financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region have dropped in response to the new variant.

On Friday, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index was 2.9% lower, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down by 2.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX200 was off by 1.4%.

Global oil prices were also around 2% lower, while gold moved higher.

Markets in the US were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Futures markets pointed to a lower open for Wall Street on Friday.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

One scientist told me this was the worst variant they'd seen - look at it on paper and it's not hard to see why.

It is the most heavily mutated variant so far and is now radically different to the form that emerged in Wuhan, China.

That means vaccines, which were designed using the original, may not be as effective.

And some of its mutations are known to increase the ability of coronaviruses to spread.

It is early days and the confirmed cases are still mostly concentrated in one province in South Africa, but there are hints it may have spread further.

Read more from James here.

Image source, Getty Images

Our main story this morning is the news of a UK travel ban being imposed six African countries due to rising concerns over a new coronavirus variant.

From 12:00 GMT, travellers arriving in England from the countries will have to quarantine and flights will be temporarily banned.

One expert described the variant, known as B.1.1.529, as "the worst one we've seen so far", and there is concern it has the potential to evade immunity.

No cases have been confirmed in the UK.

Read the full story here.