U.S. To Restrict Travelers From South Africa, 7 Other Countries Due To New Omicron Variant
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Starting Monday, the U.S. is expected to restrict travelers from South Africa and seven other African countries because of the new omicron variant of the virus.
The restrictions on incoming air travel will include Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Eswatini. The move is the result of more countries confirming cases of the rapidly spreading omicron variant.
The variant was first discovered in South Africa days ago. Experts want to determine if the variant makes people sicker than the Delta strain and whether vaccines will remain as effective.
"This variant has a large number of mutations and the concern is when you have so many mutations it can have an impact on how the virus behaves," said Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization.
Health experts say the variant may be even more contagious than the Delta variant. It has an unusually high number of mutations -- more than 30 in the key spike protein, which is the structure the virus uses to attack cells.
Meanwhile, public health officials in LA County were continuing to track variant cases, of which 100 percent of cases are currently of the Delta variant. That said, officials say the omnicron variant is being closely monitored.