Due to a new variant of the Covid-19 virus, the Biden Administration on Monday will ban travel to the United States from South Africa and seven other countries, according to numerous news organizations, which cited unnamed Administration officials.
The ban also pertains to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. The administration’s decision was advised by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Politico. The new variant of Covid, which the World Health Organization has called omicron, is also known as “B.1.1.529.”
Fauci said Friday there is no indication that the new variant is already in the United States, although other medical professionals say it’s likely already landed. It has already been detected in Belgium.
Do travel restrictions work? Early in the pandemic, President Donald Trump put travel restrictions on China, but the virus still quickly found its way to the United States.
The new variant is believe to have a greater ability to evade the vaccines in use now to combat the original Covid virus and the Delta variant. It is also believed to be more transmissible and more severe.
The stock market fell in response to the news about the new variant. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 900 points, or about 2.53 percent.
