UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was “deeply concerned” as countries around the world imposed travel restrictions on southern Africa in an attempt to stop the spread of a worrying new COVID-19 variant discovered there.
“The people of Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccinations available in Africa – and they should not be penalised for identifying and sharing crucial science and health information with the world,” Guterres said in a statement.
“I am now deeply concerned about the isolation of southern African countries due to new COVID-19 travel restrictions,” the UN chief said.
Countries across the world have reacted to the Omicron strain by slamming their borders shut despite the variant having already reached Europe, Asia and North America.
Guterres appealed to governments to instead consider alternative measures including repeated testing for travelers, to “avoid the risk of transmission so as to allow
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