President rolling back southern Africa travel curb on New Year’s Eve

President Biden plans to roll back his short-lived restrictions on travel from southern Africa now that the omicron variant of COVID is spreading widely in the U.S.

The White House will eliminate the emergency regulations that barred most foreigners who had recently been in South Africa and seven neighboring countries after omicron was first detected last month. The rules will end on New Year’s Eve.

Biden imposed the restrictions in a hasty attempt to keep omicron at bay after the omicron variant was first identified by scientists in South Africa and neighboring Botswana in late November.

The rules banned most foreign travelers who had recently been to the two nations, along with neighboring Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Eswatini, previously known as Swaziland.

Despite being labeled a “ban,” the rules did not apply to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, meaning U.S. airlines kept flying back and forth to the region and significant travel continued uninterrupted.

The imposition of the rules, and similar ones by Britain and other European nations, triggered angry complaints in Africa, where the pandemic has crippled tourism and caused widespread hardship.

Many accused Western nations of a racist campaign to punish South Africa for doing the right thing and notifying the world about the emergence of omicron.

The main burden of the rules fell on southern Africa, which suffered mass flight cancellations during the lucrative holiday period. African travelers were forced to reshuffle their holiday plans.

A White House official Friday asserted the rules helped keep omicron somewhat at bay after it was first identified and spread widely in the South African capital of Pretoria and the economic hub of Johannesburg.

“The restrictions gave us time to understand omicron,” said Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for the White House.

But there is no evidence that the rules slowed the spread of omicron in any meaningful way. The quick-spreading strain has hopscotched the globe faster than any previous variant.

Omicron is now responsible for at least three-quarters of the new cases identified in the U.S., public health officials say, and is expected to become the dominant strain globally within weeks if not sooner.

Biden on Tuesday signaled that he would consider dumping the rules given the massive community spread in the U.S.