WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries that it imposed to try to blunt the spread of the COVID omicron variant, the White House announced Friday. The variant, which was first detected by scientists in South Africa, has since spread around the world. The World Health Organization and leaders in southern Africacriticized the travel ban as ineffective and unfairly damaging to local economies. Much about the omicron coronavirus variant remains unknown; scientists say omicron spreads even easier than other coronavirus strains, including delta. The government reports that 73% of new infections nationwide are from the omicron variant.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 24, 2021 15:39 UTC