The World Health Organization has warned that blanket travel restrictions will not stop the spread of Omicron, as more countries raced to impose restrictions and the first cases of the new COVID-19 strain were detected in Latin America.
Since the new virus strain was reported by South Africa, dozens of countries around the world have responded with travel restrictions – most targeting southern African countries.
But the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that “blanket” travel restrictions risked doing more harm than good, as Canada expanded its restrictions.
In a travel advisory, the WHO warned that restrictions could eventually prevent countries from sharing data about the evolving virus.
But it advised that unvaccinated people who have been hit by COVID-19, including those over 60, should avoid travel to areas with community transmission of the virus.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was understandable for countries to want to protect their citizens “against a version we do not yet fully understand.”
But he called for the global response to be “calm, coordinated and coherent”, urging nations to take “rational, proportionate risk-reduction measures”.
The potential futility of the sweeping travel restrictions was underscored as Dutch officials reported that Omicron was present in the country before South Africa officially reported its first cases on 25 November.
The new variant – whose high number of mutations the WHO believes could make it more transmissible or resistant to vaccines – was found in two Dutch test samples from November 19 and 23 with no travel history.
A dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is prepared at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago on November 5, 2021. (AP photo/name y.huh, file)
So far, more than a dozen countries and territories have detected cases, including Israel, Australia, Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy and Portugal.
Latin America reported its first two cases on Tuesday – among people who traveled from South Africa to Brazil – and Japan confirmed the first case, a day after all foreign arrivals were banned.
However, US President Joe Biden said that travel restrictions would only apply to southern African countries, without mentioning other places where Omicrons have been detected.
Asked how long the travel restrictions that went into effect on Monday in South Africa and seven other southern African countries will be in place, Biden said it “kind of depends.”
“We’re going to learn a lot in the next few weeks about the lethality of this virus, how much it spreads, what we have to do to control it, etcetera,” he told reporters.
Asked if any sudden expansion of travel restrictions to other countries could be done, as was the case under former President Donald Trump, Biden said: “Unlike Trump I don’t shock my allies.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Tuesday that it is working to have all air travelers going to the US be tested for COVID-19 within a day of boarding their flight. Those currently fully vaccinated can present a test taken within three days of boarding.
The CDC currently recommends self-quarantine testing 3-5 days after landing in the US from overseas and for unvaccinated travelers, although compliance is voluntary and considered low.
Pedestrians in London, November 30, 2021. (AP photo/Alastair Grant)
The move comes just weeks after the US reopened its borders to fully vaccinated foreign travelers on November 8 and instituted a two-stage testing system that required testing within a day. Having fully vaccinated travelers has allowed more time to seek pre-arrival testing. Of boarding for the unaffiliated.
In Asia, governments continued to expand restrictions on Wednesday, adding Hong Kong to their travel ban lists along with various African countries including Indonesia.
Hong Kong also added three more countries – Japan, Portugal and Sweden – to its highest travel ban category after Omicron cases were discovered in those countries.
While much is still unknown about the Omicron version – it could take weeks to determine whether and to what extent it is vaccine-resistant – it has highlighted that the global fight against COVID-19 is yet to come. is not over.
Omicron emerged as much of the Northern Hemisphere was already gearing up for a new winter wave of pandemics – even as countries with high vaccination rates prevented rising infection numbers and health services from being overwhelmed. Had to fight to stop.
Governments, especially in Western Europe, have already reintroduced mandatory mask-wearing, social-distancing measures, curfews or lockdowns – leaving businesses in fear of another grim Christmas.
Greece moved on Tuesday to make vaccines mandatory for over 60s, while Norway will offer booster shots to all adults before Easter, as lockdowns get better.
Britain aims to have a third vaccine for all adults within two months.