Civil Aviation: No South Africa flights for now

INA - BAGHDAD

Civil Aviation Authority confirmed on Saturday, that there are no current flights with South Africa, in which a new and dangerous virus of Corona appeared, which the World Health Organization - WHO named (Omicron), while indicating that it is awaiting instructions from the Ministry of Health in this regard.

"We do not have direct flights from South Africa, and we are awaiting directives from the Supreme Committee for Health and National Safety to deal with them,” said the Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Jihad Al-Diwan to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

He noted, "We are an executive institution that puts proposals before the committee and awaits instructions. The matter is related to the Ministry of Health and not to the Civil Aviation Authority, since the ministry is the one that presents the proposals in the main,”

"It is the Ministry of Health that has experience with preventive measures, and we also have procedures for distancing, wearing a mask, and preventing crowds entering airports,” he added.

In the past 48 hours, several countries announced that they had recorded infections within their territories with the new mutant virus of the Corona virus, "Omicron", which was first detected in the Republic of South Africa and described by the World Health Organization as "worrisome."

The new mutant virus, B.1.1.529 (omicron), has spread rapidly across southern Africa since it was first identified in Botswana in early November.