by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:01 AM ET, Mon January 3, 2022
United States President Joe Biden and his administration lifted travel restrictions on eight southern African countries on December 31, and the travel industry is reacting.
President Biden imposed the restrictions on South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi to combat the fast-spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant in late November.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended removing the travel curbs because their continuation wouldn't have an appreciable impact on Omicron's spread in the U.S., given the levels of community transmission already present.
As a result, U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President Tori Emerson Barnes issued a statement on the Biden administration lifting the travel restrictions.
"The action by the White House to lift the travel ban on southern African nations is the right decision, given the safety protocols and vaccination and testing requirement in place for U.S. entry," Emerson Barnes said. "Assessing an individual's health risk should be the key factor in such determinations, rather than enacting broad travel bans which have not proven to be effective at stopping the virus' spread."
Last week, Canada lifted its ban on foreign travelers from 10 African countries, with government officials saying the country's spike in domestic Omicron cases meant the requirements were "no longer needed."
Malaysia also lifted its travel ban in December on eight southern African countries that had been among the first to report the Omicron variant, according to Reuters.
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