Governments around the world are bringing in travel restrictions for travelers from southern Africa after the identification of the B.1.1529 variant, amid fears that it could be resistant to vaccines. 

Here's the reaction from Europe:

Sajid Javid, UK health secretary 

"The UK was the first country to identify the potential threat of this new variant and to alert international partners."

"We are concerned that this new variant may pose a substantial risk to public health. The variant has an unusually large number of mutations."

"Early indications show this variant may be more transmissible than the Delta variant and current vaccines may be less effective against it."

Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization 

"Early analysis shows that this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study. It will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has."

"Researchers are working to understand more about the mutations and what they potentially mean for how transmissible or virulent this variant is and how they may impact our diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. This variant, the B.1.1.529, was reported [mutating] at a remarkable speed."

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president 

"The European Commission has today proposed to member states to activate the 'emergency brake' on travel from countries in southern Africa and other countries affected to limit the spread of the new variant."

"All air travel to these countries should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant."

"And travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules."