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On Friday, 26 November, the European Union urged members nations to impose a ban on travel from South Africa and six other nations to counter the spread of “Omicron”, a new COVID variant. Many European nations are currently in partial or full-lockdown due to Covid, most notably Austria and the Netherlands.
Other countries, including the United States have joined in (see below) the isolation of these African nations.
From the CDC optic, much of Europe is already at Level 4 - Very High with respect to COVID risk, to include Germany and the United Kingdom.
The World Health Organization and medical experts are suggesting that such steps may be an over reaction, yet acknowledge the low vaccination rates in Europe is causing the EU to knee-jerk. According to the AP, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed and strongly discouraged any travel bans on countries that reported the new variant. It said past experience shows that such travel bans have “not yielded a meaningful outcome.”
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said flights “should be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant, and travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules, Mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months.”
The WHO notes that COVID infections in the EU rose over 11 percent the last week and the new estimate is that death toll due to COVID will reach 700,000 Europeans by Spring 2022. The WHO has labeled this variant “OMICRON”.
The EU’s recommended ban includes, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini. Currently the U.S. CDC carries South Africa at LEVEL 1 - Low.
The United States has taken a different tact and has banned most non-U.S. citizens who have been in those countries within the prior 14 days .
Meanwhile in Asia, Japan has determined that travel will be permitted, tho travelers will be required to quarantine upon arrival for ten days at “government-dedicated accommodations.” Note: Japan is not yet open to foreign nationals. Saudi Arabi also banned flights/travelers from the seven identified countries.
Africa at 6% vaccinated
Mutations of COVID can be expected to continue in Africa according to a researcher on global health, Michael Head who noted, “this is one of the consequences of the inequity in vaccine rollouts and why the grabbing of surplus vaccines by richer countries will inevitably rebound on us all at some point to go beyond vague promises and actually deliver on their commitments to share doses.” The current vaccination rate in African continent is 6 percent.
