Many countries have imposed travel bans after variant was first detected in South Africa and Botswana
\nJOHANNESBURG\/ ISTANBUL
\nA number of countries have imposed travel bans on African nations amid fears over the new Covid-19 variant omicron. Travel restrictions have been imposed on eight southern African countries after the potentially more contagious variant was first detected earlier this month in South Africa and Botswana. The bans apply to South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
\nThe UK immediately added South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe to its red list of countries deemed high risk after omicron was detected. The European Union announced on Nov. 26 that it will block flights from these countries. The US, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Israel, India, Australia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Italy, Malta, Pakistan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman have also imposed similar travel restrictions.
\nTurkey also announced that it will restrict travel from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe from Nov. 26.
\nThe national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) carried out evacuation flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg on Nov. 27 for Turkish citizens in South Africa, repatriating 71 citizens in all.
\nTurkey has also imposed a 14-day quarantine on passengers coming from South Africa regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or had the disease in the last 180 days.
\nAfrican countries also closing their doors
\nAngola has meanwhile decided to close its borders to seven African countries to prevent the spread of the omicron variant.
\nSudan has banned entry for travelers from South Africa, while Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Rwanda announced that direct flights to South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been temporarily suspended.
\nMorocco suspended passenger flights for two weeks to prevent the variant from entering the country.
\nWhat does WHO say?
\nThe World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday there is no evidence so far concerning the transmissibility or severity of the new omicron strain.
\nThe WHO\u2019s regional office for Africa urged countries to follow science and health regulations rather than imposing travel bans on African nations.
\nThe African Union criticised the travel bans on African countries while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the restrictions were \u201cscientifically unjustified.\u201d
\n\u201cWe call upon all those countries that have imposed travel bans on our country and our southern African sister countries to immediately and urgently reverse their decisions,\u201d he said.
\nJohn Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said the coronavirus pandemic had indicated that travel bans served little purpose in managing the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many countries have imposed travel bans after variant was first detected in South Africa and Botswana JOHANNESBURG\/ ISTANBUL A number of countries have imposed travel bans on African nations amid fears over the new Covid-19 variant omicron. Travel restrictions have been imposed on eight southern African countries after the potentially more contagious variant was first […]<\/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-230322","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n