JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 28 — Travel restrictions imposed on Southern Africa will affect the airliners and economies including the countries that imposed them, said Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum on Sunday.
“Travel bans are never favorable to the economy, whether it is the economy of the imposing country or the one of the affected country. Travel bans are also devastating to airline companies who are struggling to stay afloat and to rebuild after almost 2 years of travel slowdown. It is thus important for bans to be imposed only based on verified and reliable information that has been preferably endorsed by the WHO,” said SADC Parliamentary Forum secretary-general Boemo Sekgoma.
She pointed out that the travel bans seem to be “unjust or harsh for some countries” and were put in place before verified scientific and empirical data, particularly shared by the WHO.
She called for vaccine access to all, saying that “nobody is safe until everybody is safe from COVID-19”.
South African scientists announced on Thursday that they have detected COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 (Omicron) in the country. Countries including the UK, Seychelles, and Singapore imposed travel bans on South Africa and some neighboring countries afterward. (Xinhua)
SADC concerns over travel bans
