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.
New York scales back Times Square New Year’s Eve party amid Omicron surge
“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.
“This was 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 have not prevented flights or Americans from returning from southern Africa.
Top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Monday that lifting the restrictions was likely “because we have enough infection in our own country … We’re letting in people from other countries that have as much or more infection than the southern African countries.”
02:02
Omicron Covid-19 variant spreading much faster than Delta, WHO says
The official emphasised the restrictions were meant to be temporary and lifting them after about a month “sends a pretty clear signal that there’s not going to be a significant penalty” for coming forward to disclose new variant information.
The US had only lifted travel restrictions on South Africa on November 8 put in place since late January to address Covid-19 concerns.
In the wake of Omicron, the US tightened testing rules for international travellers and extended a requirement to wear masks on planes and at airports through March 18.
On December 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) toughened testing rules for international air travellers arriving in the US, requiring them to obtain a negative Covid-19 test within one day of travel.
Under prior rules, vaccinated international air travellers could present a negative test result obtained within three days of their day of departure.
The CDC last week started distributing free Covid-19 home test kits to international travellers at several airports. The CDC encourages – but does not mandate – overseas visitors to get a new virus test three to five days after arriving in the US.
The CDC last month ordered airlines to disclose passenger names and other information about those who have recently been in the eight southern African countries.
