To stop the spread of another COVID-19 variant, travel restrictions are being imposed by the U.S. Noncitizens who travel by air from South Africa to seven African countries will now be subject to restrictions due the the new omicron strain.
Scientists from South Africa discovered this new variant last week. On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO), classified this variant as a “variant concern”.
On the same day President Joe Biden also announced his latest travel restrictions. This was a precautionary measure to give his administration time to study and adapt the new version.
Although the White House is not stating when travel restrictions will be removed, Biden said in a Friday statement that “we’ll continue to follow what science and my medical teams advise.”
The president encouraged everyone to be vaccinated. He also called on other countries to relax intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccinations in order to boost global vaccine supply.
The travel restrictions also apply to Botswana and Zimbabwe as well as Namibia, Lesotho (Eswatini), Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho and Lesotho).
Chaos is already being created by the new restrictions. It Washington Post People are being forced to leave the country by cancellations of flights, or to stay behind in order to see family.
It Post Notes that 33 countries had been exempted from travel restrictions by the U.S. just weeks before. Biden’s recent move is another setback for travel industry professionals and people who had hoped that the policy of easing pandemic-era borders controls would fade away.
Faced with this rapidly spreading new variant, dozens of countries have also put restrictions on travel.
In a variety of countries including Australia, Israel and the Netherlands, cases of infected people with the Omicron variant of the disease have been reported. Canada has reported two cases of omicron on Sunday.
Many questions remain about the omicron virus, such as how severe it can be, its transmissibility, and whether or not existing vaccines, COVID-19, have been effective in protecting people from this variant.
CNBC reports that the South African doctor who discovered the Omicron variant first reported all cases to her as mild. Experts in disease spoke with The New York Times It is possible that the omicron variant might have a higher transmission rate than the extremely infectious delta version.
Moderna, Pfizer and Moderna are currently testing the effectiveness of their COVID-19 vaccinations against the Omicron variant.
The WHO stated that we will not have clearer answers for many of these questions until several weeks later.
Here we go again.
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Los Angeles will begin to enforce its vaccination passport system immediately.Los Angeles’ city government required all persons who want to go to restaurants, gyms or movie theatres to present proof of vaccinations.
Beginning Monday, any business that fails to verify the status of its customers in terms of vaccination will face citations as well as fines. Failure to comply with the vaccine regulations in the city will result in a warning. One violation could result in a 1,000-dollar fine. For businesses with more than four violations, fines could reach $5,000.
Los Angeles has a vaccine passport system that allows exemptions for religious and medical reasons. Individual businesses are responsible for the vetting.
Los Angeles-based businessmen are frustrated by the threat of being fined.
“I have to be…the bodyguard for the city,” said one restaurateur to the Los Angeles Times. “At least we are doing what they have to do. People can’t get in if they don’t want to. Customers are the same as customers. If there is no customers, it means that I have no business. The rent is something I must continue to pay. “I have to continue paying for the permits.”
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