The US and Canada will prohibit entry to travelers from southern African countries due to Omicron variant

The United States announced this Friday the closure of borders to travelers from eight countries in southern Africa in response to the appearance of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

People from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini (or Swaziland), Mozambique, and Malawi will be prohibited from entering the United States as of Mondaysaid a senior US official.

Only US citizens and permanent residents of the United States will be able to enter the country from those nations, he noted.

For its part, Canada prohibited travelers from seven southern African countries from entering its territory, where a new variant of Covid-19 and considered “worrying” by the WHO.

“We must act quickly to protect Canadians,” Health Minister Jean Yves Duclos explained at a press conference, specifying that the affected countries were Botswana, Eswatini (former Swaziland), Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

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