Coronavirus: US to lift Omicron travel ban on 8 African countries
- The travel restrictions will be removed from December 31
- An official said retaining the measures would not have a significant impact on US cases given the widespread community transmission in the country
Foreign nationals who are barred from the US because they have been in one of the eight countries within the prior 14 days will again be allowed on America-bound flights leaving after 12.01am (ET) on December 31, the official added.
Washington on November 29 barred nearly all non-US citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, eSwatini, Mozambique and Malawi in an “abundance of caution” over the variant detected in South Africa.
The official said US public health agencies had recommended lifting the travel restrictions because retaining them would not have a significant impact on US cases given the widespread current transmission in the country, confidence that an Omicron-specific vaccine would not be necessary and that existing jabs and booster shots are highly effective.
“This travel pause has served its purpose. It bought time to understand the science, it gave time to analyse the variant,” the official, who did not want to be identified because the decision has not yet been made public, said.