United States To Lift Travel Ban In 8 South African Countries

JAKARTA - President Joe Biden's administration will lift travel restrictions in eight south African countries that were imposed last month, along with concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant, the White House said Friday.

Foreign nationals who are barred from the United States because they have been in one of the eight countries in the previous 14 days will be allowed back on flights to US destinations departing after 12:01 a.m. ET on December 31, a senior official said. confirmed the Reuters report.

The United States on November 29 barred virtually all non-US citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi on high alert for variants detected in South Africa.

White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Twitter President Biden would lift temporary travel restrictions in the South African countries effective December 31.

He said the decision was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"The restrictions gave us time to understand Omicron and we know our existing vaccines work against Omicron, especially scaled up," Munoz tweeted, citing Reuters December 24.

Reuters reported earlier that the US public health agency had recommended lifting travel restrictions, as keeping them would have no significant impact on US cases given the current widespread spread.

This is supported by the belief that a special vaccine for the Omicron variant will not be needed, along with the current capabilities of the vaccine and the booster dose, which is very effective against this variant.

"This travel break has served its purpose. It gives time to understand the science, gives time to analyze the variants," the official, who did not want to be named because the decision has not yet been announced, told Reuters.

"This is not meant to keep Omicron out. We knew we couldn't do that. The point was to reduce the number of cases coming in - in those early days and weeks."

The restrictions do not prevent flights or Americans from returning from South Africa.

Previously, the United States had just lifted travel restrictions in South Africa on November 8 that had been in place since late January to tackle the COVID-19 problem.

After the Omicron variant, the United States tightened testing rules for international travelers and extended the requirement to wear masks on airplanes and at airports until March 18.

On December 6, the CDC tightened testing rules for international air travelers arriving in the United States, requiring them to get a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel.

Under the previous rule, vaccinated international air travelers could present a negative test result obtained within three days of their departure day.