President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally revoked the travel restrictions originally imposed on eight southern African countries to slow the spread of the omicron variant into the United States.

The restrictions will lift at 12:01 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally revoked the travel restrictions originally imposed on eight southern African countries to slow the spread of the omicron variant into the U.S. 

  • The restrictions will lift at 12:01 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

  • The ban on travel was put in place on Nov. 26, the same day the World Health Organization classified omicron as a variant of concern

  • Other countries took similar approaches at the time, despite the WHO and leaders in those countries criticizing the travel bans as ineffective and potentially harmful

The ban on travel was put in place on Nov. 26, the same day the World Health Organization classified omicron as a variant of concern. The order blocked travel from South Africa, where the variant was first detected, as well as the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, and the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Other countries took similar approaches at the time, despite the WHO and leaders in those countries criticizing the travel bans as ineffective and potentially harmful.

"I took that action to slow the spread of the Omicron variant into the United States and to enable the United States to implement appropriate mitigation measures while new information emerged about the variant," Biden wrote in a proclamation, adding that he is lifting the restrictions at the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Since I issued that proclamation, our Nation’s health officials, in collaboration with the South African scientists who originally reported the variant, have made substantial progress in understanding the Omicron variant," Biden wrote. "Importantly, scientific experts have determined that people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron variant. Moreover, the Omicron variant has now spread to more than 100 countries, and it is prevalent in the United States."

Biden also touted the fact that his administration has made "international travel to the United States from all countries safer" since issuing the travel restrictions.

"In particular, the CDC has shortened the timeline for required pre-departure COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated travelers from no more than 3 days prior to travel to no more than 1 day," Biden wrote. "As a result, international air travelers to the United States from all countries, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status, must take a COVID-19 test within 1 day of departure and show a negative test result before they board a flight to the United States."

That restriction is in addition to the requirement that all non-citizens must be fully vaccinated before traveling to the U.S., as well as the mask mandate on all transportation and in public transit hubs, like airports and train stations.

The news comes as the omicron variant is already the predominant strain in the U.S., accounting for 59% of all new cases. The country has seen a massive rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, driven largely by the omicron variant.

But cases have fallen in South Africa since peaking weeks ago, a hopeful sign for other countries impacted by the variant.