Mauritius to stop flights from S.Africa from Nov. 28 over new coronavirus variant

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Mauritius will suspend all commercial passenger flights from South Africa from Nov. 28 due to the new coronavirus variant Omicron, its foreign affairs ministry said on Saturday.

A ministry statement also said any passengers who have been physically present in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will be denied entry or transit through Mauritius.

South African Airways, which restarted operations in September, said on Twitter it will stop flights to Mauritius as a result of the suspension.

Mauritius, whose economy largely relies on tourism, has 20,913 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 240 deaths reported since the pandemic began, according to a Reuters tally.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Mark Heinrich)