The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged countries to not impose flight bans on Southern African nations due to the new omicron variant. WHO’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said to follow international health regulations to avoid imposing travel restrictions. “The speed and transparency of the South African governments in informing the world of the new variant are appreciated. WHO stands with African countries to share the information, helping protect the world against the spread of Covid-19,” Moeti said.

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the restrictions completely unjustified. He said that “The restriction of travel is not informed by science, nor will it stop the spread of the variant. The only thing travel restrictions will do damage the economies of the affected countries, and threaten the ability to respond to, and recover from the pandemic.” Cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus increased in Southern African countries and several governments rushed to close their borders even after it’s not clear if the new variant is more dangerous than other variants of the virus.