The COVID-19 panic is long gone. Politicians are responding to viral fears more effectively than engaging in rituals designed to calm fear and boost their power. Travel restrictions are politically fashionable because of how widespread the new Omicron virus is. It doesn’t matter that closing borders will only further burden already struggling families and economies. Although the actual threat posed by Omicron is unknown, policy responses are as ineffective as they were preordained.
South Africa’s Health Ministry AnnouncementOn November 25, the unknown B.1.1.529 version of COVID-19 was discovered. This is still a mystery and will probably remain so for some time until additional cases are studied. Initial evidence suggests that Omicron could have high transmissibility or immune escape. AccordingAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), some South African doctors have reported “Very mild symptomsTheir mostly young patients often complained of body pains and fatigue. Nevertheless, given the dearth of information, people did what they do best: They lost their shit.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D), promptly Declared an emergencyThe extraordinary power she granted her. Worse, the world that was already experiencing severe disruptions began closing its borders in an irrational way. This is the next step. The footsteps of the United KingdomThe U.S. Travel banSouth Africa and its seven neighbors, Omicron had been in the Netherlands before I got hereSeveral other countries well before this variant was released to the public. It was actually well-established in countries that had travel restrictions (including the U.S.)
“The new case demonstrates that there is at least some local transmission of the Omicron variant and that it had arrived in the U.S. before the Biden administration imposed travel restrictions on Botswana and South Africa — where early cases of the variant were detected — and six neighboring countries,” Stat reportedMinnesota.
It seemed that the official reaction was more designed to divide families and make the world worse than to deal with a virus already present. Experts in health agree.
According to the World Health Organization’s Africa branch, “Travel restrictions can help reduce COVID-19 spread but they place a burden on lives and livelihoods.” BewareAs travel bans became more common. If restrictions must be implemented they shouldn’t be unnecessary invasive, intrusive, or unscientifically based.
It’s not new to warn that movement restrictions can have their costs and may not be very effective. Health experts warned the same thing many years ago when COVID-19 was introduced. They were looking at ways to slow the spread of new flu strains.
The results of a systematic review have shown that general travel restrictions are not effective in stopping influenza spreading. Article 2014 in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. “Only extensive travel restrictions – i.e. over 90% – had any meaningful effect on reducing the magnitude of epidemics. In isolation, travel restrictions might delay the spread and peak of pandemics by a few weeks or months but we found no evidence that they would contain influenza within a defined geographical area.”
Of course, omicron has already spread to dozens of countries. Travel restrictions at this point aren’t going to delay anything except the already-interrupted flow of goods and people needed to keep the world functioning. So, what’s the point of closing borders when it’s too late to keep the bug out? The real effect of otherwise pointless measures is to accumulate power to politicians who covet just that, and to appease a public that demands somebody do something about a virus that shows every sign of becoming a permanent part of life.
Earlier this week, 78 percent of respondents to a Morning Consult poll favored imposing travel restrictions on countries where omicron has been found. “60 percent of adults said they think travel restrictions on countries with confirmed cases of new variants will help stop the spread of the virusThe United States,” the pollsters added.
Given that the omicron already exists, it would not be easy to prevent the spread of this virus in America by placing restrictions on traveling from abroad. Public officials are elected by winning elections and not through logical reasoning assessments. This means that we do not get travel bans from countries in which the omicron was discovered early. Test requirements changedAnyone else who may want to travel from abroad. New restrictions on travel and trade will also have a negative impact.
Patricia Cohen said, “The current set of restrictions have already reduced travel and diminished consumer confidence.” Not notedIn The New York Times. She said that Omicron’s threat of the recovery was just one in a string of zigzags the world economy has experienced since last year, when the coronavirus swept across continents.
“We’re not in stagflation yet.” CommentAlicia Garcia Herrero was the chief Asia Pacific economist for Natixis SA, a French finance firm. “But we might be there in one more year if cross-border mobility is not disrupted and the supply chains aren’t interrupted.”
How do we deal with this latest COVID-19 variant, which is almost certain not to be the last? This comes in an age when many people are tired of waiting and hoping for the return to normality. Recent months have been filled with a lot of interesting developments. Protests eruptedEurope: Up And elsewhereLockdowns, mandated vaccines and mask orders are not acceptable. Nothing about Omicron suggests that people would be happier if there were more restrictions on their lives.
It will remain a constant challenge to improve and modify vaccines for new variants, which is in essence the same way that we fight against the flu each year. ArgumentsAnnabel Denham of Britain’s Institute of Economic Affairs. “Eventually, we have to quit destroying the economy and realize that it is possible for this to be all good.”
Fearful politicians and members of the public who have grown used to being able to stretch their power may find it difficult to believe that “As good or better as it gets”. However, it is worth learning how to cope with an inexorable virus that changes constantly.