Geneva: International spread of the Omicron type will not be halted by blanket travel prohibitions, according to the WHO. Even though dozens of nations have already imposed such restrictions, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread of the Covid-19 Omicron strain.

Despite the fact that the WHO has labelled Omicron as a "variant of concern," it cautioned on Tuesday that blanket travel bans will simply put a strain on lives and livelihoods while also "disincentivizing countries to report and share epidemiological and sequencing data." South Africa was the first to disclose the Omicron variant to the WHO last week. Omicron infection has been confirmed in various nations and locations so far. According to reports, several of countries have already tightened travel restrictions and even cancelled flights.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Botswana and South Africa for quickly finding and reporting the Omicron variation at a member states meeting on Tuesday. He described it as "very concerning" that these countries were being punished for doing the right thing by others. He described some member states' "broad, sweeping measures" as "neither evidence-based or effective on their own." He asked countries to use "rational, proportional risk-reduction measures that are consistent with international health rules."

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