The UK has imposed a ban on travellers coming in from six African nations over concerns about the importation of a new strain of Covid-19.

People who want to travel from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana as well as island nations Mauritius and Seychelles will be barred from entering the UK, an advisory said.

The countries are seen as having a high number of travel connections with South Africa.

British and Irish nationals are exempt when arriving back from these countries, but will need to follow quarantine procedures when arriving in the UK.

Scientists say the South African Covid-19 variant is more transmissible with research still ongoing about whether it can harm the effectiveness of vaccines that have been developed.

Rebels signed a peace deal following a civil war that erupted in 2013 but that has been imperfectly observed and they still control two-thirds of the Central African Republic.