Washington. The governments of the United States and Canada will also restrict entries from southern Africa due to a new version of the coronavirus. This is a precautionary measure, the White House said on Friday. This affects entries from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. Several European states have previously announced such restrictions or suspension of flights.

The Canadian government imposes sanctions on foreigners who have lived in Southern Africa in the past 14 days. All Canadians who were there during this period should be tested. They will be tested on arrival and should be quarantined till a negative result is obtained.

Anyone who has been to southern Africa in the last 14 days and has already returned to Canada is asked to go into quarantine and take a COVID-19 test.

WHO classifies new version as “concerning”

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the new coronavirus variant Omicron (b.1.1.529), which was initially identified in South Africa, as “concerning” on Friday.

The White House said the US sanctions would not apply to incoming US citizens, people with permanent residence permits and other exceptional cases. It was initially unclear when the entry restrictions would go into effect. In the past, these had to be decreed by decree of the President. Earlier this had not happened yet.