The United States will bar entry to most travelers from eight southern African countries starting on Monday, after a potentially more-contagious new coronavirus variant was identified in South Africa, President Joe Biden said on Friday.
The new variant, dubbed Omicron, poses a new challenge for Biden, who has had a mixed success getting Americans vaccinated after a politically motivated pushback by 10 states. Biden also faces criticism from international health experts and foreign leaders for failing to send vaccines to poorer countries.
The travel restrictions do not ban flights or apply to US citizens and lawful US permanent residents.
No cases of Omicron were identified in the United States to date, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday. The agency expects that it would identify the B.1.1.529 variant quickly if it emerges in the country.
Countries around the world rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa after the World Health Organization said Omicron was ‘of concern’. Many of those bans kick in immediately, unlike those issued by Biden.
The restrictions apply to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. Most non-US citizens who have been in those countries within the prior 14 days will not be allowed into the United States.
Biden made the announcement while spending the Thanksgiving holiday weekend on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket.
“As a precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering additional air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries,” Biden said in a statement.
The president told reporters while on a walk-in Nantucket that his medical team recommended the ban begin on Monday instead of immediately. A White House official told Reuters the gap was due to the procedural things that had to be done before such a ban could be put in place, including working with transportation authorities and airlines.
Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said it was in communication with the US government as specifics remain unknown at this time and there are many unanswered questions. Amid this rapidly evolving situation, it is critical that US government decisions regarding international travel restrictions and requirements be rooted in science.
The United States could add countries to the restriction list if the variant spreads, a senior administration official said.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines both fly to South Africa and United is set to resume nonstop flights from Newark to Cape Town on December 1. Shares of both airlines closed down more than 8 percent on Friday.
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