Many countries across the globe have rushed to impose travel ban on arrivals to countries in the southern africa region following the emergence of a more deadly covid-19 strain known as omnicron in South Africa.

Passengers from most countries in South African Development Community bloc are banned from entering various countries across the globe.

Like many other countries responding to the quick spread of Omnicron, Rwanda has banned passengers arriving from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Malawi.

The government of Rwanda said on Monday any passengers from the countries listed shall have to be quarantined for 7 days at their own cost.

Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said that travel bans to try and stop the omicron strain from spreading are a “mistake” and pose a greater risk to African economies than the threat of the virus itself.

The restrictions could push more people in the continent into poverty, said Vera Songwe, Uneca’s executive director. The agency was already estimating that 70 million jobs would be lost because of the pandemic, she said. 

Rwanda Issues New Conditions For Travelers From Southern Africa

Passengers arriving in Rwanda from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Malawi shall have to be quarantined for 7 days at their own cost, the government of Rwanda said on Monday.

A new coronavirus strain named Omicron potentially more contagious than previous variants and is fast spreading across the world and has forced governments to institute enhanced guidelines to quickly prevent the variants further spread.

Passengers arriving in Rwanda shall have to respect the new measures announced by the government on Sunday. It said that passengers arriving from the countries mentioned above are required to quarantine for seven days at their own cost at designated hotels upon arrival in Rwanda.

“The measure also applies to passengers who have visited any of these countries within seven days of arrival in Rwanda.”

Meanwhile, all other arriving passengers are required to quarantine for one day at their own cost in designated hotels. a covid-19 PCR test will be conducted on arrival also paid for by the passenger and an additional PCR test covered by the government of Rwanda will be administered at a designated testing site on day 7 after arrival in Rwanda.

RwandaAir flight to the South African countries are also suspended until further notice.

An extra-ordinary cabinet meeting held yesterday learned that despite the fact that Omicron variant is not yet detected in Rwanda, residents are required to be vigilant by enforcing preventive measures.  

Prior the announcement, Botswana’s Presidential COVID-19 Task Force also forewarned the public about the new variant cases in the country.

“The four cases were detected among travelers who tested SARS-COV-2 positive on routine pre-travel testing. The variant tests were carried out as part of the routine genomic surveillance of SARS-COV-2 as prescribed in our COVID-19 response plan.” the statement signed by Dr. K Masupu, Coordinator, Presidential COVID-19 Task Force reads.

UK has also imposed a travel ban on South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.

Researchers around the world are still conducting multiple studies to better understand many aspects about Omicron.

The Embassy of the United States of America to the Republic of Rwanda announces a new delivery of 301,860 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as a gift from the people of the United States to the people of Rwanda.

This brings the total current U.S. donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Rwanda to 1,960,550 doses.  These vaccine doses are accompanied by U.S. donated syringes and the United States provides 1,350,000 needed syringes to fill a critical gap.

This donation is a further symbol of U.S. commitment to work with the Government of Rwanda to protect the health of the Rwandan people.

Ambassador Vrooman announced, “The United States has provided nearly 2 million vaccine doses to Rwanda, with another million doses due to arrive via COVAX in December.”  

Thanks to the ingenuity of American scientists and the strength of American manufacturing, the United States is bringing life-saving vaccines around the world to the people who need them the most.

To date, the United States has donated more than 240 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 100 countries –a major step in ending the pandemic globally. 

In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, the United States provided more than 65 million vaccine doses.  And we are not done yet. Working together with COVAX, WHO, UNICEF, and partner countries, the United States is committed to donating 1.1 billion vaccine doses to where they are needed most to end this global pandemic.  

We also appreciate our partnership with Rwanda.  In delivering donations of life-saving vaccines, personal protective equipment, training, and testing capabilities, Rwanda can be well on the way to ending this pandemic’s high toll on life, livelihoods, and secondary social and economic impacts.