disruptive innovation, autonomous vehicles prevent careless driving by humans minimizing social costs. early next year, the city says it will add 10 driverless taxes to the gang them district as part of the pilot project. second faith. and if everything goes off without a hitch, the city government wants to grow itself driving fleet to more than 50 vehicles. in the next 5 years. alexander lurch al jazeera. ah, hello, are you watching out 0? these are the top stories, this alum you as president joe biden warranty, implement any additional restrictions to contain the new only cron variance. however, he warned, it'll be a few weeks before it's known how effective vaccines will be against the strain. this period is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. we have the best vaccine in the world, the best medicines,

the best scientists, and we're learning more every single day, if needed. my team is already working with officials at pfizer and darn and johnson and johnson terms develop contingency plans for vaccines or boosters if needed. the un secretary general says, hey, stay play concerned by the oscillation of southern african countries to the race and to call the 19 travel restrictions. and tony, a good tear, it says the region can not be blamed for its lack of vaccines. he wants nations to reconsider travel bands. the head of the world health organization is urging global solidarity around says, is determined to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal as talks resume in vienna. the u. s . has negotiating with iran indirectly to ron one sanctions to be lifted in return for limits on its nuclear program. china's president has promised to african nations a 1000000000 corona virus vaccines and increased economic assistance. and today,

some of his underway in santiago, china is africa's largest trading partner with $119000000000.00. lebanon's president has discussed his country's deepening economic crisis with cotton, amir michelle own holding talks, while on his visit to dora for the opening of the faith arab comp. he's also discussed lebanon's diplomatic feud with gulf nations. saudi arabia withdrew with ambassador from bay rouge and band imports from the last month. the trial is under way for british social life align maxwell in new york. she is accused of enabling the crimes of life sex offender jeffrey, abstain. and twitter co founded jack josie has stepped down as c own. dorsey has faced the internal pressure to resign and survived and invest to be asked him last year. those are the headlines. i'm emily angland. stay tuned on al jazeera, with inside story up next. ah,

ah ah, the race to contain a new code with 1900 various countries are closing their borders, reem, posing travel restrictions and warranty measures a clear sign. the pandemic is far from over, but our government prepared to deal with the ever changing virus. this is inside story. ah, ah. hello and welcome to the program. i'm daddy navigator. so just as countries around the world, we're starting to reopen their borders and lift cove with 1900 restrictions. a new variance is now threatening to derail the progress of the past few months. several

nations have already imposed travel restrictions to and from southern africa. that's where the latest variance was 1st detected, the world health organization says it poses a high global risk. so government has been put on notice, be prepared. little is known about the new strain, but there are fears. it may be highly infectious on more resistant to vaccines. more than 2 years since we started the pandemic, it shows no signs of ending health officials or urging nations to speed up their vaccination drives. we'll bring in our guests in just a moment, but 1st here's more from the head of the w. h ho. who's urge countries to work together to fight defend demick. we understand and support every government's responsibility to protect its own people. it's natural, but vaccine equity is not charity. it's in every country's

best interest. no country can vaccinate its way out of the fund. i'm you alone. the longer about union equity persists, the more opportunity these virus has to spread and evolve in ways we can not predict nor prevent. ah, let's, i'll bring in our guest. joining us from cambridge and the u. k. is dr. dipped eager to sunny, who's a senior lecturer, queen mary university of london in addis ababa, dr. well, the job p t director at the africa centers for disease control and prevention over in oxford, michael jacobs as the professor of political economy at the university of sheffield in the u. k. a warm welcome to you all. thanks so much for joining us on inside story. dr. good. the sunny. so just about a year ago and vaccination started rolling out the belief by some was life could certainly return to normal just when things seem to be looking up. infection

started increasing again in some countries as you know, and now we have this new concerning variance. are you surprised by this, or did you expect this to happen? no, i'm not at all surprised. in fact, a lot of that rhetoric has come from politicians, particularly in the west, where the idea has been let's live with the wires and return to normal. scientists have been warning for a while, but that's not possible with a virus that's been adapting continuously towards becoming more transmissible, potentially more that we had more able to escape vaccines. so this was entirely predictable because we've had, i think, i knew where did arise on with every 3 to 4 months. and this is sort of right on time with predictions that many people have made. unfortunately, the banassi ignored by government who wants life to normal. but aren't really taking steps needed to ensure that radians. don't continue to rise in the way that they are michel jacobs. i see you nodding along. what's your take on this? i think i bowed to the scientific experts. it is pretty clear that with

a corona virus, that is mutating so rapidly, the ones that will emerge are the ones that are more transmissible and more resist vaccine. that's what, that's why they merge. and this does mean, i think that until the world is fully vaccinated, we are going to have to live with it in the sense that we're not going to be able to go back to move. this is the new normal and so well at least wearing mosques, physical distancing restrictions on travel, i think is inevitable for several years yet. and the really worrying thing is the world has not made a huge amount of progress in vaccinating in tar populations. you know, most european countries have about 70 percent for the vaccination. now. in the u. k, in the u. s, it's less than not. it's more like 60 most african countries. it's still under 5 percent. the south africa where this new variant seems to arisen is only 25 percent, despite being

a richer african country. these levels of explanation make it inevitable that we're going to see this virus across the globe. and that will continue to give us huge economic destruction. and huge increases in poverty. all right, all important points which i'll address in just a moment. the 1st, let me bring in a my, this out of us are army kron and has been classified as a variant of concern. as you know, what is the data available so far? tell us about its infection risk, and will it become the dominant strain? do you think or is it too early to say? so? and now thank you for having me. let me start by correcting the previous speaker, and who has alluded to a my con virus having been they are coming from south africa that is incorrect. and the correct position is that it is impossible to know where her variant fast appears on. the more efficient scientists are,

the ones who are going to be declaring that they have characterized a particular variant. and that's what south africa indeed will china have done. it is the efficiency of their system that is now being turned round or to label, or this particular variant as a something that has happened in southern but of africa. and let me shift to your question and we don't know a lot about this particular betty. but the fact of the matter is, we know we expected from the very beginning that we are going to be having different variants. that is the way viruses are. they are going to mutate over time. so it is not a surprise. what is surprising is the panic that we're seeing across the globe. by the time a virus, a new variant has been characterized. it has been circulating and we've in the globe. and it is really difficult to them try and close doors and pretend

that it may not come in to one particular community. and what we need to do is to understand what this new variant is all about. we still don't have enough information to do that. and then we react appropriately and the appropriate reaction is to use all the tools that are dispos vaccines is just one of them. we must go back to all the other tools. public health measures masking up sanitizing, providing the correct information and not panic. so that we can stay ahead of this plan then. otherwise, if we panic, it will only be 8 of us. so, okay, i'm at oklahoma. is this then the new normal as you speak of a sanitizing mass, squaring vaccines, are people just going to have to learn how to live with locked downs and

restrictions and vaccines and screenings for the foreseeable future? what, what is definitely going to happen is we're, we're going to be living in an environment that is different from the pre funding base. it is absolutely no doubt about that. we come, however, be able to bring this to a stop if we act together acting on our own individual countries. communities is not going to to, to stop the pandemic. this is a global problem, and we must approach it from a global perspective. where each and every tool is available to each and every part of the world. then we can be able to bring this to a stop. and some of the restrictions will then be able to be removed. but so long as we continue to look at this from mom, i very much an elastic of spectacles. we're not going to have it. and, and any new variance that will come is not going to be able to be contained in one

country or one region. it will spread, so we must ox together so that we can be able to remove out these restrictions and continue the life are relatively more comfortably than it is dr. where the sun is that something you agree with? also, the president of south african self described, the emergence of this new variant as a wake up paul call for the world regarding particularly vaccine inequality. and he warned that until everybody was vaccinated then more variance were actually inevitable. so with countries and populations having different access to vaccines, as we know, is he right? yes, me, thank you. this has been obvious from when the found them in stock. i mean, you need a globe the coordinated approach of progressive elimination. this is not a virus that you can live with because as i said, you will see new versions of this bio much each one potentially worse than the previous. but you don't just need a coordinated vaccine strategy. so definitely there needs to be global equity. there's no doubt about that,

and there's also no doubt that there's been massive boarding on vaccines in the west that has sort of push school back to the end of the queue despite there being a huge need that. but i think it also needs to be a coordinated effort to deal with misinformation back to hesitancy, which is impacting i think all of the world including south africa. and i think unless we have all of that with a focus on, you know, i profess m a said every to the to but it's not just faxing, but hi, quick mark. things that work with a transmission like ventilation, really good. so valence system. we will not be able to get on top of this, so it's essentially using every layer that we have and ensuring that there is no concrete that disadvantage because of lack of access or shortages or lack of things . just structure as well as dealing with the huge amount of misinformation that spread across multiple avenues including social media, michael jacobs. what do you think that governments need to do to manage this virus in a sort of more effective way? so we can get back to our normal lives. well,

i certainly agree that we need to be sharing vaccines more equitably across the world. we recently, apparently in the u. k. destroyed 600000 vaccines, which had gone past their effective date, which is an absolute moral disgrace and economic disaster. we, it is really appalling that the western countries and gulf states and others have not been enabling greater vaccination in the rest of the world. and as has been said by various leaders, including the head of the w, w, i chose you heard earlier, i'm nervous a safe until everybody is. but i also agree that this problem with this information and vaccine hesitancy is a huge problem in the us. it looks very unlikely that they will ever be able to get to a bird immunity because very large numbers of people almost entirely associated with supporters of the republican party. do not believe in vaccinations and in many cases seem to believe that the whole curve it thing is a hooks. now that is

a kind of not just dis information, but a kind of political war on health and on equity. and many countries around the world see this where you got vaccine hesitancy bound up with wider mistrust of, of governments or professionals of experts and so on. and this is a real problem which we have to address in every country where this occurs, right? my cover, how difficult is it to balance? what scientists swan in terms of wiping up as virus and what society and populations need in terms of function and well being. i think from an economic point of view, it is very difficult. there's no question that as you restrict certain kinds of contact and travel that certain sectors of the economy will be heard, the travel industry, tourism, in particular, the un conference on train development is estimated that the economic cost across the world. but particularly from the loss of travel and tourism might go up to 4 trillion dollars last year and this year. so that is

a huge economic cost. and it's obviously much harder for people and industries where most workers can't work from home in manual labor sectors. the auction working from home, which is possible for white color office workers, doesn't exist. so this will have is having a huge economic costs. but in the end a pandemic which, which we don't get riddle will have a larger economic costs. and so yes, of course, this is a balance and some countries seem to balance this better than others. in other places, the restrictions have been a been minimized because of political opposition. there's a kind of strand of libertarianism that's definitely true in my own country in the u. k. and in the u. s, which sees even things as simple as more squaring, as incursions on personal liberty. that kind of attitude is not helping that. he's making the situation worse. stand by for just a moment. we'll delve into the economic discussion a little bit more, but take a look at the statistics. so as we mentioned earlier, this new variant is threatening to undo the recent economic recovery. if there was

one, millions of people lost their jobs when businesses were forced to close. during the initial wave of the pandemic, global supply chains are still severely disrupted as a result of staff sorta, jones. and many ports are clogged with shipments, causing supply shortfalls, as well as rising prices. and the international monetary fund predicts the cost of food and gas will rise by 4.3 percent this year. and that is the biggest jump since 2011. and on the issue of travel, in particular off my dog. well, oma, the president of south africa, i'm sure you know, has called on countries which have imposed recent travel bands on his country as well as some other regional countries to urgently reverse their decisions. that's what he says before any further damage is done to our economies. so knowing that the u. k. u and u. s. are among some of those who impose those travel bands, do you think they're going to make a difference in fading this variance solid bonds? don't work. we have seen it and there's another foster radiance. but in your sri st

. our new start over there, i'll find a better the delta m. we have very good evidence that travel bonds do not work. to fact. during this time of a micro, on we have seen as or my last count at least 12 countries have reported a documenting a bill micron a variant. so, closing down economies over a, by a, by bombing travel from one part of the world to another is not going to help. but when you say your diligence, i wonder if you can just tell us a little bit about what that evidence is. look, if you go to each and every type of variant, the only way for you to be able to know which variant you're dealing with is to do for genome sequence. so if a country is doing full genome sequencing, they will be able to tell what kind of variant we are dealing with. not all

countries are doing that some countries are doing it, especially in africa. we are doing that very, very effectively. and when we share that data, we are punished for 2nd is when you look at the out, the way that them or the volumes are being identified across the world of it is not following aaliyah path or from one country to the other. it is popping up even amongst people who cannot be able to be seen to have trouble anyway or come into contact with someone else. what travel? so it means that the, the way in which is variance are actually traveling across the world. we cannot yet be able to define it effectively and if we can't define the pathway, then the close closure of borders is not going to l. m a, but it is damaging our response into very important ways. one is that it is going to discourage countries from a doing any for genome sequencing and sharing be a bit that is damaging and 2nd economically speaking by starting to label countries

as are saucers of different types of by a variance. we are going to start if affecting are not only response of the public to our vaccination, but also they cannot make a damage that is going to be caused is going to be more if we deal with this as we are dealing with variance and not parts of the world than we are going to be a lot more effective, but travel bonds do not work have never worked. are not going to work with this variant or any other that will come up in the future and talk to her the family. what is your opinion on this or, or the travel brands premature an overreaction or, or what's your take on so by the time a band is identified, it is widespread. so you know, when it was identified, many of us said yes, it's definitely here in england because of the transport links between different regions. that doesn't mean that slowing down import doesn't help. and certainly

that helps, but not through travel benz through sweeting, at the border and strong quarantine measures and not targeted at single countries, but rather comprehensive ones that require isolation and testing of old trevino's. and those measures have been shown to be highly effective in, in very large studies across many countries. but also with the caveat that they are effective because you're going to slow down spread. but then are you going to do something with that extra time that you gain because ultimately cases will probably come through unless you have sort of very blanket restrictions like some countries in saudis have, which have kept radians out. and i don't see countries like the u. s. and u. k. doing very much else with that timing back time needs to be urgently use to put in domestic measures that reduce transmission to reduce existing case raise to build healthcare capacity to increase the vaccination. and boosting, unless that time is used to do that it's, it's sort of going to be wasted. so

o oscar, the question that we put at the top of the show and it, is this going to be the new normal doctor for the sunny? should people continue to expect travel bands? i know that a, my dog oma doesn't necessarily agree with them, but should people be expecting this to be their new normal? they should face travel bands every couple of months because of, of the corona virus. i think, depends on the political will. i mean, if it is a global e, coordinated effort to what elimination been things like quarantines and travel restrictions and other restrictions will be the shortest. but and by sort at them, i still mean unfortunately, over the course of a few yards. you know, like we did when mizo be eliminated, but gradually. but if that's not the course that we're choosing and if the courses living with the bias, then i'm afraid we are dealing with longer term restriction. so paradoxically, i find the focus on short term freedoms and short term economic green gains has

trumped the science, which means that we're living in longer term restrictions and much, much greater economic damage. and i think at this point in time for politicians and scientists reflect on, you know, can we make it globally corner to f lord, which requires short pain. but, you know, does not require living with a virus that's constantly mutating to potentially become more transmissible. and more able to escape the tools that we have. so michael, jake, of how do then government balance keeping their economies afloat on one end while protecting populations from transmission and as their strategy this time around going to have to be different than last time around. the strategies in countries that are more vaccinated is different. and so lot downs are, are occurring less than they used to older. we've now seen new look, towns in certain european countries because transmission has extended florida. but that will be different in many countries from before. i think many industries have become better at adapting to the situation where people can work from home. people

are obviously got used to that in other sectors. we've got better logistics, which have kept people apart from one another, better ventilation of or, or of buildings. and so on, so between industry and government, we've seen some forms of adaptation, which meant that the economic costs have not been as great. but then, or if we don't succeed in vaccination, very large numbers of the population globally and not just in certain countries. and these things won't be fully effective to very difficult choices, the governments, because the economic costs are very considerable. you have obviously the direct health costs or people getting the disease. and but you have huge economic costs from making it more difficult for people to work into consume and to produce. and those have real health costs themselves. people become ill. a people are poorer than they can't access, health care themselves and so on. so this is a very difficult balancing act and their own simple solutions. for thing,

as i think he cannot make inequality were worse than and michael jacobs if, if the situation continues as, as it economy can, equality will worsen under either leaving the a pandemic to go its own way or restricting the economy, but much more deeply naive the choice is good for poor people because poor people have fewer options always. and so yes, inequality is light each arise. this is why it's so important, but governments are extend the vaccination programs, particularly in the donation of vaccines from rich countries to poor countries. because in the end, that is the only way we will get a control of this. the only way we can find some degree of equitable outcome. and i just will say, but trouble bands or any form of travel restriction is an economic costs to the countries involved in that travel. so even if you don't band people, if you currently them, if you force him to have tests, which they have to pay for,

you will have a restriction on the amount of trouble that is on the fly inevitable in upon them, the troubles are so quickly across borders, so whether or not it's actual bands or whether it's just better a quarantine in vaccination testing, processes that will impact on travel with an economic course. i, mother, well omar, it, to what extent you think this crisis, this pandemic has really been a revelation on, on weaknesses that exist and how we all live together. absolutely and, and in fact, the weaknesses have been across boat and all types of communities in the country is all types of a strat, dana's foster social studies and all of us have been exposed in different ways. now 2 things i like to add to that one is a we do have tools at our disposal that we need to use to slow this down so

that we can, we were to perform an adequate economic activities. that one is testing. we have a rapid test now which give you results in a matter of minutes, and we need to use these more effectively so that we can, we would like them to fi hotspots quickly and then put out on the spread as fast as possible before it goes into other parts of the country, other parts of the world. so effective testing needs to be ramped up. second is vaccination. we need to vaccine it, that we can reduce the number of people who are going to be seriously ill and therefore put less pressure on our health systems. and i also have fewer people who can be able to spread at a virus more more efficiently. and finally, is information human beings by and live? if they're given the correct information, they tend to react in a positive way. they'll always be that part of society that will not be able to

react in a positive way. the way that we transmit that information, how fast we do it, and how effectively treat the population is critical in ensuring that our population is we are those who are responsible for guiding and coordinating this response. and now currently we're not doing enough of providing that information and we need to do it more effectively. ok on that now to leave it there. thank you so much for joining us, dr. the think. are there any doctor mother? well oh my michael jacobs. we appreciate your time. thanks for watching. you can see the program again any time by visiting our website al jazeera dot com for further discussion. you can go to our facebook page, that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha. inside story. you can join the conversation on twitter or handle is a james. i story from myself and the whole team here in del how, thanks for watching a bye for now. ah

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most people will never know what it's like to work with. every breath is precious, with fear is not an option. but we're not most people. ah, this is al jazeera ah hello, i'm emily. ang, when this is the news ally from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes. the un secretary general urges nations to reconsider their southern african travel bands, as the country is praised for identifying the new army con variance. this period is the cause for concern not of course for print. you as president says the travel ban is necessary but he's not expecting a d.