United States will bar travelers from 8 countries in southern Africa.

[cadoman]

Source: NYT

President Biden will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other African countries to try to contain a troubling new variant of the coronavirus, senior administration officials said on Friday, though they said it would be impossible to prevent it from entering the United States.

Starting on Monday, the administration will prohibit travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi from coming to the United States, the officials said.

The travel ban will not apply to American citizens or lawful permanent residents, officials said. But they will need to show a negative coronavirus test before coming to the United States.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/world/americas/us-travel-restrictions-new-covid-variant-omicron.html

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Buckle up folks. Get a clean stack of masks. Make sure your booster is up to date. Stock up.

[lapfog_1]

1. more infectious than Delta

very likely to evade all vaccines.

TBD about the pathogenicity (how sick you will get).

If it makes people much less sick, this is a good thing.

If the about the same or worse then we will have another Covid winter (lock down, sanitize, etc) and a new booster vaccine in 3 to 6 months.

[regnaD kciN]

3. We can't say it's "very likely" to not be stopped by vaccines yet...

We simply won’t know until they’ve done the sequencing and testing.

[lapfog_1]

4. too many changes in the spike proteins

38 mutations there alone... plus the evidence of infections in fully vaccinated people is a good indication.

[olegramps]

11. Why is Biden waiting until Monday? It should be immediate?

Every passenger who has arrived since its detection or whatever period the scientists determine,should be found and quarantined until proven to not be infected. We can only hope that the present vaccines are effective against the newest strain. The world better wake-up before it's too damn late. Those who oppose vaccination are the enemy in this battle. How can we stand by and allow these imbeciles to kill us off. It is just plain ridiculous.

[regnaD kciN]

2. While it makes sense...

…with it not starting for another three days, and no restrictions on U.S. citizens nor on tourists from places like Belgium and Hong Kong where the variant has already spread, it’s likely a case of shutting the barn door after the horse has fled. The only semi-reliable way to prevent it from reaching the U.S. would be a 100% travel ban from anywhere…and, even then, there are pretty good odds that it already arrived here before being identified in South Africa.

[madville]

9. Doesn't make any sense if it was actually aimed at prevention

Still allowing travelers to and from these regions is going to allow it to come here, it’s like they’re trying to look like they’re doing something while at the same time acknowledging they can’t really stop it.

60+ Confirmed positive cases on two flights that just landed in Amsterdam from South Africa…….

[Timewas]

5. Probably

Be the same as all the others ....too little too late

[manicdem]

6. Every year

Makes me think what would happen if a variant came out every year that was unaffected by the current vaccine. Perpetual lockdowns forever?

[madville]

8. Just in blue states

But there isn’t much of an appetite to lockdown again in many of those either. People will get more and more used to living with this and it will become the new normal.

[Bengus81]

7. Trump humpers and RW zealots will be lining up to die from this variant too........

Go for it..........

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

10. I never stopped adhering to the strictest preventitive protocols.

Too many ignorant Trump worshiping Q nut anti-vaxxers where I live, and I do whatever I can to prevent being infected by fools.