The travel industry has reacted to the lifting of travel restrictions by U.S. President Joe Biden on December 31, resulting in an upsurge in travel to eight southern African countries.
The restrictions were imposed by President Biden in late November and applied to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended removing the travel curbs last week because their continued implementation wouldn't have an appreciable impact on Omicron's spread in the United States, given the already existing levels of community transmission.
In response, U.S.Travel Association executive vice president Tori Emerson Barnes released a statement regarding the easing of the travel restrictions. "The White House's decision to lift the travel ban on southern African nations is the right one, given the safety protocols and vaccination requirements in place for entering the country," Emerson Barnes said An individual's health risk should be the key factor in such decisions, rather than enacting broad travel bans, which have not proven to be effective in stopping the spread of the pandemic virus."
Canada lifted its ban on foreign travelers from ten African countries last week, citing a spike in domestic Omicron cases as the reason for the lifting.
In December, Malaysia lifted its travel ban on eight southern African countries that were among the first to report the Omicron variant, according to Travel Reveals.
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