Guterres blasts travel bans for African countries
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday the countries that imposed travel restrictions due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant. A number of developed countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, have stopped flights from southern African states, where the variant first appeared.
“The people of Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccinations available to them. Nor should they be collectively punished for identifying and sharing crucial science and health information with the world. With a virus that is truly borderless, travel restrictions that isolate any one country or region are not only deeply unfair and punitive – they are ineffective. I appeal to all governments to consider instead repeated testing for travelers, together with other appropriate and truly effective measures,” Guterres stated.
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