New US Travel Restrictions as Omicron Spreads

On Friday, November 26^th, President Biden issued a statement and new round of international travel restrictions after a briefing by Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of the white house COVID-19 response team. The new variant ‘B.1.1.529’, now known as Omicron, was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa last week Wednesday, November 24^th.

Additional restrictions for travelers entering the United States from the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe were issued by President Biden as a precautionary safety measure until further understanding about Omicron is known. The latest restrictions go into effect today, Monday, November 29, 2021. There are also travel advisories in effect for Americans who may be traveling abroad. On Friday the U.S. Department of State published a level 4 travel advisory ‘Do Not Travel’ to South Africa issued from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The President ended his message with a renewed appeal to the nations meeting this week at the World Trade Organization to waive intellectual property protections for COVID vaccines so the vaccines can be produced world-wide.

Follow the link HERE to view the CDC recommendations for anyone considering travel to South Africa.

From the White House briefing on November 26^th:

“Given the recommendation of the CDC, working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, described above, I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to suspend and restrict the entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of noncitizens of the United States (“noncitizens”) who were physically present within the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Zimbabwe during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.”