Mauritius will suspend all commercial passenger flights from South Africa from November 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.

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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.

(Reuters/NAN)

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