UKZN Professor Calls on Billionaires to Help Fund South Africa Amidst Discovery of New Covid19 Variant

• A geneticist professor, Tulio de Oliveria has made a plea to world leaders to assist African countries to deal with the new Covid19 variant
• De Oliveira has also extended the call for help to the billionaires to assist these countries financially to improve health care systems
• Some South Africans have thanked the professor for his efforts while others feel begging for money is not the way to go

JOHANNESBURG - Tulio de Oliveira, a University of KwaZulu-Natal geneticist professor has taken to social media to address the world's reaction to South Africa after a new coronavirus variant was detected this week.

De Oliveira pleaded with world leaders to take a different approach to ban travel on Southern African countries but rather assist them.

A number of countries which include the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore and Germany have banned a few Southern African countries and cited the new variant as the reason for the ban, according to BusinessTech.

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The move to ban South Africa has been described as premature by a number of government officials and the Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu stated that it was disappointing that these countries moved so quickly to ban SA.

Geneticist calls on world billionaires to help African countries

De Oliveira also shares the same sentiments as government officials but rather shared a different approach that will help the world at large. He stated that South Africa and other African countries need to be given support to get rid of the variant as quickly as possible and not isolation, according to TimesLIVE.

The professor also called on financial institutions and billionaires to provide financial assistance to these countries.

He went on to tag the likes of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The funding would be used to help better health systems.

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He stated that South African scientists raised the alarm about the new variant because they wanted to protect the country and the world at large.

South Africans react to Prof de Oliveira's plea to the world

Social media users engaged with the professor and thanked him for his thread. Others asked if he believed that the new Covid19 variant was already in Europe but are not reporting their finds.

Some South Africans stated that the money would disappear if given to African countries.

Here are some of their comments:

@MelissaMoniz11 said:

"Thank you @Tuliodna. May I ask - is it possible that this variant is already circulating in Europe but that they are not transparent to the public about this? Are they perhaps silent in order to (conveniently) put the blame on a lower income country?"

@WizardKittySA said:

"You have to be kidding... Extending the begging bowl for financial support to South Africa while the ANC has stolen billions. From our health minister to COVID procurement at all levels. Do you honestly believe 'the people' will receive a single cent of those donations?‍♂️"

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@Ashleigh2104 said:

"Will this ever end? Is this life? Wave after wave. Variant after variant. Living in a dystopian reality where we roll up our sleeves every 6 months for another booster shot. Still wearing masks and never seeing a smile is there anything worth being positive for anymore?"

Minister Naledi Pandor believes UK travel ban decision was “premature”

Briefly News previously reported that Naledi Pandor, the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, has responded to the UK's decision to impose strict travel restrictions on South Africa following the announcement of a new Covid-19 variant being detected.

Pandor believes the decision was premature and rushed as very little is currently known about the new variant, so restrictions should only be revised when more information becomes available.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is yet to announce its recommendations.

Source: Briefly News