The government says excellent science should be applauded and not punished
\n JOHANNESBURG
\nSouth Africa said on Saturday it was being punished for its advanced ability to detect new Covid-19 variants early, as travel bans and restrictions imposed because of the new Omicron variant threaten to harm tourism and other sectors of the economy.
\nSouth Africa has some of the world\u2019s top epidemiologists and scientists, who have managed to detect emerging coronavirus variants and their mutations early on in their life cycle. The Omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.
\n\u201cThis latest round of travel bans is akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker,\u201d the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said.
\n\u201cExcellent science should be applauded and not punished,\u201d it said in a statement.
\nMany nations rushed on Friday and Saturday to announce travel curbs to South Africa and other countries in the region.
\nThe foreign ministry noted that while the new variant was also detected in other countries, the global reaction to those countries have been \u201cstarkly different\u201d to cases in southern Africa.
\nThe new variant was first announced on Wednesday by a team of scientists in South Africa who said they had detected a variant that could possibly evade the body\u2019s immune response and make it more transmissible.
\nOn Friday the World Health Organization named it Omicron and designated it as a \u201cvariant of concern\u201d – its most serious level – saying preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection.
\n\u201cOur immediate concern is the damage that these restrictions are causing to families, the travel and tourism industries and business,\u201d South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in the statement.
\nThe government was engaging with countries that have imposed travel bans to persuade them to reconsider, it added.
\nOn Friday, the WHO cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the variant, saying they should take a \u201crisk-based and scientific approach\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The government says excellent science should be applauded and not punished JOHANNESBURG South Africa said on Saturday it was being punished for its advanced ability to detect new Covid-19 variants early, as travel bans and restrictions imposed because of the new Omicron variant threaten to harm tourism and other sectors of the economy. South Africa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-229749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n