Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Some Scientists Worry The Africa Travel Restrictions Will Discourage Other Nations From Reporting New COVID Variants

Some Scientists Worry The Africa Travel Restrictions Will Discourage Other Nations From Reporting New COVID Variants

"What is the incentive for the next country that identifies the next important variant if their reward is what President Biden did to South Africa?"
As world leaders rushed to restrict travelers from several African countries where a new, potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant was identified, public health experts warned that the move may discourage other nations from reporting future variants out of fear of facing the same restrictions.

It's not yet clear how contagious the Omicron variant is or how effective current vaccines are against it, but fears over the strain's potentially high transmissibility led the US and a slew of other countries, including the UK, Italy, France, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Morocco, and the Netherlands to restrict travel from South Africa, where the variant was discovered, and its neighboring countries. On Friday, President Joe Biden described the travel ban, which does not apply to US citizens and permanent residents, as a "precautionary measure" meant to give officials time to gather more information about the new variant.

But experts told BuzzFeed News they doubted the policy would have much of an impact on the spread of the variant.

"Travel bans can buy time if you’re in front of a virus, but I don't think we’re in front of it," said Dr. Ingrid Katz, associate faculty director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.

As of Saturday, dozens of cases have been reported in the UK, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Hong Kong, Israel, Botswana, and South Africa, which first reported the variant to the World Health Organization on Wednesday. The rapid identification of the new variant in countries outside of southern Africa has underscored what we've seen at multiple points in the pandemic: travel restrictions don't stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Instead, experts said the policy poses economic harm and stigmatizes countries that should be applauded for sounding the alarm. It could also, they fear, disincentivize other countries who discover new variants from reporting cases of the Omicron variant or other game-changing versions of the coronavirus.

"They discovered a new variant, they sequenced it, they let the world know. Shouldn't you be praising them?" said Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. "What is the incentive for the next country that identifies the next important variant if their reward is what President Biden did to South Africa?"

On the ground, the restrictions have already created chaos. As the Netherlands scrambled to enact their restrictions, two flights from South Africa were left temporarily quarantined on the tarmac in Amsterdam for hours before hundreds of the passengers were finally tested for COVID.

Katz, whose research has focused on the HIV response in sub-Saharan Africa, noted that it was largely because of South Africa's investment in genomic surveillance that they were able to identify the variant so quickly. Though South Africa's discovery of the Omicron variant coincided with a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections, the country's number of daily infections — 2,828 on Friday — pales in comparison to other countries. The US recorded nearly 50,000 new cases on the same day.

"What a terrible message we’re sending to South Africa and other nations who are willing to be forthright and share important information," Katz said.

She described the travel restrictions as "political theater" and suggested they were discriminatory in nature.

"You're looking now at cases they’re popping up all over Europe. Are we putting on travel restrictions there?" Katz said, adding that she didn't think it made sense to allow Americans in those countries to travel to the US but not people of other nationalities. "People can travel safely if there are some basic public health precautions in place."

Experts said the US and other countries should instead focus on enhanced testing of passengers upon arrival and mandatory quarantines.

"That would have a much lower economic impact than just canceling all of the flights," said Gerardo Chowell-Puente, a professor of epidemiology at the Georgia State University School of Public Health.

And, above all, vaccinating the rest of the world should be at the forefront of the pandemic response moving forward.

"Vaccine inequity and just a lack of public health preparedness absolutely lead to situations where we're going to continue to pop off these variants because viruses mutate — that's what they do," Katz said.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×