U.S. Reviewing Southern African Travel Ban, Fauci Says

With the Omicron variant now present in much of the world—including 183 confirmed cases in the Netherlands—the U.S. will consider lifting its travel ban to southern African nations, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday. The country’s chief medical advisor told CNN that they review the ban daily and hope to lift it “within a reasonable amount of time.” When the coronavirus variant was first identified in South Africa, the U.S. was among many nations who blocked travel from the region to try to “buy time” while scientists studied the new strain. “Thus far, though it’s too early to really make any definitive statements about it, thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it,” he said, adding that it is just too soon to know for sure.