Biden to lift travel restrictions on southern African countries that were put in place due to Omicron

By Jeremy Diamond, CNN

The Biden administration is lifting travel restrictions on eight southern African countries that were put in place last month after the Omicron variant was first identified in South Africa, a White House official tells CNN.

The restrictions will lift on December 31 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

News of the lifted restrictions was first reported by Reuters.

In late November, Biden, on the advice of his health team, restricted travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. The measures barred nearly all foreign nationals who had been “physically present” in the countries during the “14-day period preceding their entry, or attempted entry into the United States.” US citizens, lawful permanent residents and noncitizens who are the spouses of citizens or permanent residents were exempt.

The restrictions had come under increased scrutiny as the Omicron variant became the predominant one in new cases in the US.

Biden said Tuesday that he was “considering” whether to lift the restrictions.

“I’m considering reversing (the travel ban), I’m going to talk to my team in the next couple days,” Biden told reporters after a speech on Covid-19 at the White House.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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