Covid: South African president calls for Omicron travel ban to be lifted.

Omicron is classified as a "fear variant." Preliminary evidence suggests that there is a higher risk of reinfection. Last Wednesday, the highly mutated variant was discovered in South Africa earlier this month and later reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

This variant was responsible for most of South Africa's most populous Gauteng province infections in the past two weeks. South Africa reported 2,800 new infections on Sunday, up from an average of 500 the previous week.

Government adviser and epidemiologist Salim Abdul Karim said he anticipated the number of cases would reach more than 10,000 a day by the end of the week. As a result, hospitals would be under pressure over the next two to three weeks.

In a speech on Sunday, Ramaphosa said there was no scientific basis for the entry ban and that South Africa was a victim of unfair discrimination. He also argued that the ban was ineffective in preventing options from spreading.

"The only thing the travel ban will do is further damage the economies of the affected countries and weaken their ability to respond to and recover from the pandemic," he said. He called on outlawed countries to "immediately reverse their decision before further damage is done to our economy".

Ramaphosa said South Africa would not impose new restrictions but "hold extensive consultations on mandatory vaccinations for certain activities and locations."

Current regulations in South Africa require wearing face masks in public places and limiting indoor gatherings to 750 people and outdoor groups to 2,000 people. Health experts say Gauteng, Johannesburg, has entered batch four, and unvaccinated people carry out most hospitalizations.

Omicron has been found in several countries worldwide, including the UK, Germany, Australia, and Israel.

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