Omicron Travel Ban Lifted

On December 31, 2021, the Biden administration lifted travel restrictions that had been imposed on eight southern African countries. In late November 2021, as an attempt to slow the spread of the newly-identified Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Biden administration barred the entry of all non-US citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The Omicron travel ban had been criticized for being harmful to the southern African countries’ economies, while also being ineffective because the variant had already begun to spread globally. White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz defended the temporary travel bans, saying that they bought crucial time for scientists to study the new variant and conclude that the current vaccines are effective in reducing the severity of the illness.