Nov 26, 2021, 7pm est.
Travelers from South Africa and seven other countries will face new restrictions starting Monday, President Joe Biden announced.
Travelers wait at the South African Airways info counter.
The images are from the same source.
The White House announced new restrictions on air travel from a number of countries.
Biden said in the statement that the restrictions would go into effect Monday.
The president decided to restrict travel until he had more information about the outbreak of omicron in South Africa.
The White House said Biden was briefed on the variant by Fauci.
According to CNN, any new restrictions would not apply to U.S. citizens and documented permanent residents.
Biden said in the statement that the omicron variant shows that the Pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations. He called on other countries to donate vaccines to developing countries and to waive intellectual property protections so they can be manufactured globally. The United States has donated more vaccines to other countries than any other country.
The increased number of mutations compared to previous coronaviruses has alarmed experts who fear the variant may be more infectious and vaccine resistant. Omicron was found in South Africa this week and has since been found in Hong Kong, Belgium, Israel and Botswana. The U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Israel and Japan have all announced new travel restrictions for visitors from the south African region.
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Travelers from Southern Africa are subject to restrictions from the U.K. and Israel.
