Omicron variant of the coronavirus: science as the axis of the struggle unleashed by the ban on flights from southern Africa

The summer season in Cape Town has just started, but flights to and from South Africa are uncertain. The new variant of the coronavirus COVID-19 omicron it threatens to stop life and the African economy and the world again.

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“El País” encourages understanding the suspension of flights between the European Union, Israel and the United Kingdom with South Africa as a crucial action “for the future of markets that are hypersensitive to any new health risk”.

The United States, for its part, also “ad restrictions on visitors from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi”. Brazil and Chile have also joined the veto.

In this regard, World Health Organization understand that the measure is exaggerated. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, stated:

“Travel restrictions may help to slightly reduce the spread of the COVID-19, but they represent a huge burden on life and livelihood”.

“If restrictions are in place, they should not be unnecessarily invasive or intrusive, and should be based on science”.

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, has lamented the restrictions on flights from his country. REUTERS (POOL /)

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, also joined the claim. The president stated:

“The travel ban is not based on the science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant”.

“The only thing the travel ban will do is further damage the economies of the affected countries, and undermine the ability to respond to and also recover from the pandemic.”.

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The health doctor Ernesto Gozzer Infante coincides: these restrictions do not make sense and, in any case, it is evident that “respond to fear and the need to please a part of public opinion”.

“From a scientific point of view, there is no justification, there are no arguments to show that the restriction on flights has an effect on reducing cases”.

This, in large part, because the “omicron variant already traveled”.

“Even looking back, many of us agreed with the restrictions in Peru, but although there was a slight decrease, these should not have lasted as long because the virus was already here.”.

“The omicron must have departed between October and the beginning of November: on the 25th of this month information about cases registered on the 11th was published. This about flights does not make much sense. You should probably already be in Peru”.

To date, the omicron variant is in Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel, Hong Kong, Canada and possibly in Italy.

Does it make sense to attribute the birth of this variant to the vaccine shortage in Africa?

Gozzer responds:

“We have been handling this conjecture for a long time: the more the virus circulates, the more likely it is to mutate. For example, in South Africa, the prevalence of HIV is high, meaning that there are many immunocompromised people. To this must be added that, in the continent, vaccination coverage is low, barely 7%”.

“What should be done is to support those countries with more vaccines, distribute them to those who have difficulties in accessing them”.

A group of travelers prepare to take a coronavirus discard test in Cape Town. EFE (NIC BOTHMA /)

CONSEQUENCES OF RESTRICTIONS

The internationalist Francisco Belaúnde stresses that the restrictions in question affect the countries of the on from África and that these do not usually have “obvious geopolitical ambitions, unlike Morocco, Algeria or Egypt”.

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In any case, if you want to analyze the matter from that point of view, you could talk about how this affects South Africa. “As not all the countries in the region have a direct connection with other nations, South Africa is something like the ‘hub’ “.

The closure is a new blow to the country’s economy, and will surely cause problems for the population.

“As soon as this variant was known, the world’s stock markets fell. There is fear that the entire economic recovery will be lost or delayed”, Belaúnde notes.

The El Financiero portal adds:

“In a sign of how worried you [está] Wall Street, the so-called market fear indicator known as VIX jumped 48 percent to a reading of 26.91. That’s its highest reading since January, before the vaccines were widely distributed.”.

Belaúnde limits: “There is a lot of fear. Since before this new variant appeared, in Europe there was a new wave among the unvaccinated, and now this is happening. They are very worried”.

Referential image of Wall Street. AP (John Minchillo /)

If one takes into account that the restrictions on flights have no scientific basis, could one speak of discrimination against Africans?

The specialist maintains that this is not the reason and that, in any case, it is the same response that the world gave when a variant of the coronavirus was detected.

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“When there were indications that there was one in Brazil, restrictions were imposed. In China the same thing happened and they were furious, although later they also closed their borders”.

“It also happened with Peru. Remember that we were one of the last countries to which the United Kingdom lifted the measures for an alleged variant”.

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