{"id":47247,"date":"2021-12-28T20:25:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T20:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47247"},"modified":"2021-12-28T20:25:16","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T20:25:16","slug":"biden-confirms-end-of-omicron-travel-curbs-for-african-nations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47247","title":{"rendered":"Biden confirms end of Omicron travel curbs for African nations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US president says restrictions are \u2018no longer necessary\u2019, as new COVID-19 variant becomes dominant strain.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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US President Joe Biden has formally ordered an end to travel restrictions on eight southern African countries imposed last month to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant<\/a>, saying that the curbs are \u201cno longer necessary to protect the public health\u201d.<\/p>\n

Biden issued a proclamation on Tuesday repealing the restrictions on travel into the United States from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.<\/p>\n

The ban will be lifted at 12:01am (05:01 GMT) on Friday.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration had announced<\/a> its intention to undo the travel restrictions late last week, as health officials announced Omicron already had become the dominant strain of the virus in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly, scientific experts have determined that people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron variant,\u201d Biden said in Tuesday\u2019s decree.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoreover, the Omicron variant has now spread to more than 100 countries, and it is prevalent in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n