ANP Products | Source: ANP
Washington
The U.S. government lifted travel restrictions on eight countries in South Africa from the end of last month. The White House at the time feared the highly contagious Omigran variant of the corona virus, which first appeared in South Africa. The Netherlands on Thursday lifted its embargo on countries in the region.
A White House spokesman confirmed that foreigners who had stayed in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Ezwatini, Mozambique and Malawi 14 days before leaving for the United States would be welcomed again from December 31. The decision was taken on the recommendation of the CDC, he said. “Limitations have given us time to understand Omigran, and we know that our existing vaccines work against Omigran.”
A senior White House official told AFP that because Omigran is widespread around the world and in the United States, international travelers from eight countries in South Africa will have no impact on the number of infections in the United States.
The United States has already tightened testing rules for international travelers to the country. For example, they must submit a negative corona test. It is also mandatory to wear a helmet on flights and at airports.
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