WHO calls for moderation in restrictions imposed on travelers from Africa

On Sunday (28), the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement calling for moderation in applying restrictions on travelers from Africa.

The recommendation comes days after a series of governments, including Brazil, banned entry to people from countries in southern Africa due to the Central African Republic emergency. Ô Micron coronavirus alarming variant.

“Travel restrictions may play a minor role in limiting the spread of Covid-19, but they are a significant burden on lives and livelihoods. If implemented, restrictions should not be unnecessarily invasive or intrusive and should be scientifically based. In accordance with regulations. International Health, a legally binding instrument of international law recognized by more than 190 countries,” the organization said in a statement.

Passengers who have been in the last 14 days in ten African countries They are banned from entering Brazil from Monday (29), even if they have made contact elsewhere.

The banned countries are: South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.

The World Health Organization also praised “the speed and transparency of the governments of South Africa and Botswana in informing the world about the new format.”

The first cases detected in South Africa had serial samples and the WHO was notified in less than ten days.

The organization notes that “a ban on flights has been imposed on South African countries, but so far only two countries have discovered the new type. Meanwhile, countries in other regions have reported cases of Ômicron.”

In addition to South Africa and Botswana, Ômicron has also been discovered in Germany, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic.

Cases from these countries concern individuals who have returned from a journey from Africa.

The situation is the same as in the suspected case in Brazil. One A Brazilian who returned from South Africa was diagnosed with Covid-19 It was isolated while the PCR test sample was subjected to genetic analysis.

According to Anvisa (the national health monitoring agency), on Saturday (27) the passenger disembarked from the Ethiopian Airlines flight, coming from Addis Ababa, at Sao Paulo International Airport.