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In turn, the United States is lifting travel restrictions on eight African countries, including South Africa. A month after closing their doors to anyone coming from southern Africa where the Omicron variant has appeared, travelers to the region will be able to travel to the United States as of December 31.
The maintenance of these restrictions was criticized as the Omicron variant was becoming the main source of contamination in the world.
Why maintain this travel restriction for eight African countries (South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi) when the Omicron variant has now invaded the whole planet? Including for the United States where the variant has become the main source of new contaminations there.
This issue has been seized by the Biden administration on numerous occasions in recent weeks. Several African officials denounced the maintenance of restrictions as unfair and unnecessary.
The variant already widely present in the United States
Finally, at the beginning of the week, while speaking on the Covid-19, the American president recalled that his administration had never considered making these restrictions permanent and that he reassessed the situation regularly with his teams of ‘scientific experts.
From now on, it is therefore for two reasons that Washington is lifting this travel ban on December 31: first, the fact that the Omicron variant is now widely present in the country. Then Americans are effectively protected by “current vaccines” against a severe form of Covid-19 linked to Omicron, a White House spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, the British authorities, on the same arguments, announced to lift the restrictions for travelers fromSouthern Africa in place since the end of November.
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