LESS SEVERE

South Africa Rings in Holidays With Surprise COVID Rollbacks

The country where the fast-spreading Omicron variant came from says encouraging data shows infections have not been as severe as previous COVID-19 variants.

Encouraging data showing infections from the Omicron variant are not as severe have led South Africa’s government to curb quarantines restrictions, The New York Times reported. Quarantine restrictions are now only in place for symptomatic people in the country. People who have tested positive but don’t have symptoms will be allowed to gather with others if they wear a mask and social distance.

“There is greater recognition that, in the face of a hyper-contagious variant like this, quarantining and isolation are no longer effective as public health containment measures to contain the virus,” Francois Venter, a researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg told The New York Times.

The rollback in South Africa comes as Omicron has spread rapidly across the U.S. and upended holiday travel plans. Even so, Reuters reported the Biden administration decided on Friday to lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries that were put in place last month.