US imposes travel bans on southern Africa over new COVID variant
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden imposed fresh travel restrictions on nations in southern Africa on Friday, joining efforts by other countries to try to slow the spread of a potentially potent new COVID-19 variant that has roiled global markets.
“What is known is that COVID vaccination helps stop transmission of infection which prevents new variants from emerging,” said Kathleen E. Toomey commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Vaccination is more important than ever with the emergence of this new variant and the holidays just around the corner.”
The administration will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries starting Monday, according to senior administration officials. In a statement, Biden called the decision a “precautionary measure until we have more information.”
In addition to South Africa, the restrictions affect Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. The policy doesn’t apply to American citizens and lawful permanent residents, though they must still test negative before travel to the U.S., according to administration officials.
The ban may fuel concerns about the variant, which triggered a market sell-off as investors parsed emerging data about its potency and how quickly it spreads. The S&P 500 closed 2.3% lower during an abbreviated session Friday, the biggest oneday drop since February, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index lost 2.1%. The Bloomberg EMEA Airlines Index sank 11.3% on the day.
The World Health Organization listed the mutated virus, now named omicron, as a “variant of concern” Friday as a growing list of nations moved to block travel from the region. Countries across Europe halted air travel from southern Africa earlier in the day, as did Canada.
“As we move forward, we will continue to be guided by what the science and my medical team advises,” Biden said in a statement. “The news about this new variant should make clearer than ever why this pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations.”
The U.S. announcement is a reversal of course for Biden’s administration, which earlier this month abandoned country- or region-specific measures and replaced it with a system that hinges on a traveler’s vaccination status. Friday’s announcement leaves the U.S. with a hybrid system of travel bans on unvaccinated foreigners as well as a broader ban on the eight countries designated Friday, which have comparatively lower vaccination levels.
Anthony Fauci, one of Biden’s top health advisers, said earlier Friday that officials would act after reviewing scientific data with counterparts in South Africa. Biden said he made the decision after a briefing by Fauci and members of his COVID-19 response team.
American health officials spoke with their South African counterparts midday New York time on Friday to gather medical and scientific data about the newly discovered variant. The administration remains in touch with health experts across southern Africa to learn more about the variant.
Biden again urged Americans to get vaccinated, and to get booster shots, to bolster their own protection. All U.S. adults are eligible for boosters six months after their second dose, or two months after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine.
Biden also called on other nations to step up donations of vaccines and for a World Trade Organization ministerial meeting next week “to waive intellectual property protections for COVID vaccines, so these vaccines can be manufactured globally.”
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen proposed activating an emergency ban for air travel from southern Africa until there’s a clearer understanding of the potential dangers. The U.K. also closed the routes, though no cases of the new variant have yet been detected in the country.
The fear is that the mutated new coronavirus may be more resistant to vaccinations or the body’s own immune response after earlier infections.