Thread by @CyrilRamaphosa

We are deeply disappointed by the decision of several countries to prohibit travel from a number of Southern African countries following the identification of the Omicron variant.

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This is a clear and completely unjustified departure from the commitment that many of these countries made at the meeting of #G20 countries in Rome last month.

They pledged at that meeting to restart international travel in a safe and orderly manner, consistent with the work of relevant international organisations such as the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization and the OECD.

The #G20 Rome Declaration noted the plight of the tourism sector in developing countries, and made a commitment to support a “rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of the tourism sector”.

Countries that have imposed travel restrictions on our country and some of our Southern African sister countries include the UK, US, European Union members, Canada, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Oman, the UAE, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Seychelles, Brazil and Guatemala, among others.

These restrictions are unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our Southern African sister countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant.

The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic.