Ylan Mui joins 'Closing Bell' to report the White House will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other African nations starting on Monday. The travel restrictions do not apply to. U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, though they will have to test negative to travel. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: [ Ссылка ]

The United States will restrict travel for non-U.S. citizens from South Africa and seven other countries starting on Monday, part of a global effort to stem the spread of the heavily mutated omicron variant of Covid-19, according to senior Biden administration officials.

In addition to South Africa, the affected countries are Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

The decision came less than three weeks after the Biden administration lifted pandemic travel restrictions on visitors from more than 30 countries.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the variant Friday by White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, as a growing list of countries issued their own travel bans.

Canada, the European Union and the U.K. all announced travel restrictions on southern Africa Friday, even as Belgian officials announced that several cases of the omicron variant had already been identified there.

Also on Friday, the World Health Organization assigned the newly identified variant the Greek letter omicron and formally recognized the strain, previously referred to as lineage B.1.1.529, as a “variant of concern.”

Health experts are deeply concerned about the transmissibility of the omicron variant given that it has an unusual constellation of mutations and a profile that is different from other variants of concern. It is not clear how severe infections would be for vaccinated patients.

It is feared a sharp upswing of Covid cases in South Africa’s Gauteng province — where the heavily mutated strain of the virus was first identified — could mean it has greater potential to escape prior immunity than other variants.

The designation of a new variant of concern coupled with mounting alarm from health officials sent global markets into a tailspin on Friday. Oil prices and leisure stocks took heavy losses on the news.

Airline and other travel stocks plunged Friday. The new restrictions come just as carriers and aerospace manufacturers like Boeing have been upbeat about a resurgence in travel demand, particularly international routes next year.

There are 122 flights between the U.S. and South Africa scheduled for December, according to aviation consulting firm Cirium.

United, which has the most scheduled service with 87 flights, is set to resume nonstop flights between its Newark, New Jersey, hub and Cape Town next month. A spokeswoman said no changes are currently planned.

Delta has 35 scheduled flights between the U.S. and South Africa in December.

» Subscribe to CNBC TV: [ Ссылка ]
» Subscribe to CNBC: [ Ссылка ]
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic: [ Ссылка ]

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: [ Ссылка ]

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: [ Ссылка ]
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: [ Ссылка ]
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: [ Ссылка ]

[ Ссылка ]

#CNBC
#CNBCTV

свернуть