US lifts travel restrictions on 8 south African countries despite record COVID-19 cases

In his proclamation on Tuesday, Biden said the restrictions "are no longer necessary to protect the public health" and will be lifted after midnight on December 31.

Washington: US President Joe Biden has signed a proclamation on Tuesday rescinding a previous order that restricted travel from eight countries in southern Africa in the hopes of containing the now-widespread Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The highly contagious strain, which now accounts for the vast majority of new COVID-19 cases in the US, was first detected by scientists in South Africa in late November. President Biden quickly restricted travel by non-US citizens from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi in response.