Omicron variant spreads across the world

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a US travel ban on South Africa and several other African countries is being reevaluated every day.

He said the US was aware of the hardship the bans have placed on the countries.

Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the ban was put in place when the US was “in the dark” and just learning about a surge in cases in South Africa due to the Omicron variant and added the ban was meant to provide time to assess the situation. 

The United States barred entry to travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, but the variant has now been identified in dozens of countries and several US states.

Many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Canada, India and Russia, as well as the European Union, have also imposed new travel restrictions because of the Omicron variant.

“Now, as you mentioned, as we’re getting more and more information about cases in our own country and worldwide, we’re looking at that very carefully on a daily basis. Hopefully we’ll be able to lift that ban within a quite reasonable period of time,” Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday.