WHO critical of some travel bans

JOHANNESBURG — The World Health

Organization on Sunday urged countries

around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African

nations due to concerns over the new omicron variant.

WHO’S regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, called on countries to follow

science and international health regulations in order to avoid

using travel restrictions.

“Travel restrictions may play a role in slightly reducing the spread of COVID-19 but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods,” Moeti said in a statement. “If restrictions are implemented, they should

not be unnecessarily invasive or intrusive, and should be scientifically based, according to the International Health Regulations, which is a legally

binding instrument of international law recognized by over 190 nations.”

Moeti praised South Africa for following

international health regulations and informing WHO as soon

as its national laboratory identified the

omicron variant.

“The speed and transparency of the

South African and Botswana governments

in informing the world of the new variant is to be commended,” said Moeti. “WHO stands with African countries which had the courage to

boldly share life-saving public health information, helping protect the world

against the spread of COVID-19.”

Cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus popped

up in countries on opposite sides of the world Sunday and

many governments rushed to close their

borders even as scientists cautioned that it’s

not clear if the new variant is more alarming than other versions of the virus.

While investigations continue into the omicron variant, WHO recommends that all countries “take a riskbased and scientific approach and put in place measures which can limit its possible spread.”

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health in the United States,

emphasized that there is no data yet that suggests the new variant causes more serious

illness than previous COVID-19 variants.