- President Biden has decided to Impose a ban on most non-US citizens entering the country who have recently visited South Africa.
- The restriction will mean that, most non-US citizens who have been in South Africa within the last 14 days are not eligible to travel to the United States.
US President Biden, who took office on Wednesday, is taking an aggressive approach to combat the spread of COVID 19. He has decided to Impose a ban on most non-US citizens entering the country who have recently visited South Africa. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s principal deputy director, stated that the move was taken in view of the spread of the new variant of the virus beyond South Africa. The restriction will mean that most non-US citizens who have been in South Africa within the last 14 days are not eligible to travel to the United States.
The new variant 501Y.V2, was traced in late 2020 by South Africa’s Network for Genomic Surveillance. Scientists are worried that the variant may spread much more efficiently between people, compared with other variants of SARS-CoV-2. Health officials have expressed apprehensions that current vaccines may not be effective against the South Africa variant, unlike the UK mutations. Therefore it carries the risk of re-infection. The 501Y.V2 variant found in South Africa is reportedly 50% more infectious and has been detected in at least 20 countries. However, so far the South African variant has not yet been found in the United States but at least 20 U.S. states have detected the UK variant B.1.1.7.
A similar entry ban has been reinstated on non-US travelers who have been to Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders.
