COVID-19: 'Blanket travel bans' will not prevent spread of Omicron variant, affirms WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against the “blanket ban” imposed by over 50 nations across the globe as a way to limit the spread of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant. As the world swiftly geared up to tackle the highly-mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 after South Africa reported the strain to WHO, the United Nations (UN) health agency has said that travel bans will not prevent the spread of the B.1.1.529 variant.

South Africa first reported the mutation to WHO on 24 November. Two days later, the UN health agency not only designated it as a “variant of concern” but also named it Omicron. However, shortly after more and more travel restrictions were announced from the South African nations where the new variant was found. Previously, the WHO had criticised the countries for ‘penalising’ South Africa and Botswana for detecting the mutation. 

WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had also said that the world should praise the two South African nations for detecting the Omicron variant. In the latest official release by the UN health agency, that the recent “actions have allowed other countries to rapidly adjust their response measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO called on all countries to follow the IHR (2005) and to show global solidarity in rapid and transparent information sharing.”

The WHO said, “Blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods. In addition, they can adversely impact global health efforts during a pandemic by disincentivising countries to report and share epidemiological and sequencing data.” “All countries should ensure that the measures are regularly reviewed and updated when new evidence becomes available on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of Omicron or any other VOC,” it added. 

WHO calls for ‘accord’ on pandemics

Additionally, the WHO chief also called for a “new accord on pandemics” in the wake of the “highly-mutated Omicron variant”. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and even exacerbated fundamental weaknesses in the global architecture for pandemic preparedness and response.

According to the United Nations (UN) health agency chief, the best way to address the challenges around the global health crisis is to legally bind the nations in an agreement with a vision that the countries have no future but a common future. Now, as the concerns of the Omicron variant continue to spark fears across the globe and has prompted nations to reimpose the restrictions, the WHA yesterday kicked off the special session where the members attempted to negotiate a new “pandemic treaty”.

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