South Africa complained that it was being punished for detecting the new coronaviruses strain Omicron after worldwide travel restrictions from southern Africa were hastily introduced.
The South African foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that science should be applauded and not punished.
This latest round of travel bans is similar to punishing South Africa for its advancedgenomics and the ability to detect new variant quicker.
Omicron a coronaviruses was labeled a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.
The first known case was detected in South Africa on November 9 and the variant was reported to the WHO on November 24.
South Africa has some of the world's top epidemiologists and scientists who have detected emerging coronaviruses early in their life cycle.
Travelers from southern African countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia were not allowed to travel over the weekend.
The US and European Union have both said they will restrict travel from the region.
The UK, Canada, and Australia have introduced restrictions.
South African officials said the country was being discriminated against.
The director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation said in a series of posts that the world should support South Africa and Africa.
Tulio de Oliveira is on November 25, 2021.
We have been transparent with scientific information. We made the data public and raised the alarm as the infections are increasing. Prof de Oliveira said that they did this to protect the country and the world.
The Omicron variant has already been detected in Europe and Asia, so the government questioned the travel bans.
The health minister said in a press conference on Friday that the same countries that are reacting in this way are battling their own waves.
The WHO warned against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the variant, saying they should take a risk-based and scientific approach.
South Africa was hoping to revive its tourism industry after the Pandemic.
The minister of South Africa said that they were concerned about the damage that the restrictions were causing.
The country said it had begun to engage countries that have imposed travel bans.
