Health ministers from the European Union (EU) are meeting on Tuesday, December 7 to discuss the latest data on the Omicron variant, and regulations put in place to combat the spreading of the virus. One source told Bloomberg that the EU is considering mandating PCR tests for vaccinated individuals from southern Africa, should the travel restriction be adjusted.
Following the discovery of the new Omicron variant by South African scientists, nations within the EU placed blanket travel bans on South Africa and six other African countries to curb the spread of the new variant whilst its severity was being assessed.
However, another source stated that travel restrictions are not on the formal agenda for the meeting, but rather the EU’s internal response to the Covid-19 pandemic regarding other matters like vaccination policies.
According to Reuters, the EU said that while the travel ban against southern Africa was by no means a long-term measure, the EU is not yet looking into the possibilty of lifitng the bans.
Picture: Ross Parmly/Unsplash
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