The White House Lifts Travel Ban on Southern Africa

The restrictions were imposed last month after the spread of the Omicron variant - which was first discovered there.

The U.S. is lifting travel restrictions imposed on eight countries in southern Africa - effective Dec. 31.

The restrictions were imposed last month after the spread of the Omicron variant - which was first discovered there.  The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Omicron now accounts for more than half the new cases in the United States and has been found in more than a hundred countries.