Washington. US President Joe Biden said yesterday that he does not anticipate “at this time” new travel restrictions on the new omicron variant of Covid-19, first reported by South Africa last week.
“The degree of spread has an impact on the need or not for travel restrictions. But I do not anticipate that at this time,” he told reporters at the White House.
The United States banned from Monday the entry of most travelers from eight countries in southern Africa, a measure criticized by many health experts because it can discourage the reporting of new cases by other nations and because the variant is already very extended.
In a televised address, Biden said the new omicron strain, potentially more infectious than the currently dominant delta and already detected in several countries, “is cause for concern, not panic.”
“Today we have more tools to combat the variant than we had before,” he said, adding that his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, hoped that current vaccines would continue to offer protection against the virus.
Facing the holiday season at the end of the year, the president asked Americans to get vaccinated and vaccinated their children or, if necessary, receive their booster doses, as well as use masks in closed spaces.
“If people are vaccinated and wear a mask, there is no need for confinement,” he said, flanked by Fauci and Kamala Harris.
Asked about the eventual obligation to be vaccinated or present a virus detection test to take internal flights in the United States, Biden replied that “at this time it is not a recommendation” from the scientific community.
Biden added that he would present “on Thursday” a detailed strategy to combat Covid-19 during the winter, “not with lockdowns, but by expanding vaccination, booster doses, tests.”
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx