São Paulo – Morocco has suspended all flights from abroad to the country for two weeks since November 29 to restrain the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron. With the same purpose, other Arab countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, adopted restrictions on the entry of citizens from some countries on the African continent. Pictured above, an airport in Morocco before the new measures.
The Morocco Interministerial Commission for Monitoring of COVID-19 informed the closing of the borders was decided to preserve the achievements made by the country in the fight against the pandemic and protect the health of the Moroccans. The commission will regularly assess the situation to adjust the measures if necessary. Other nations worldwide, such as China, Japan, and Israel, have also fully closed their borders.
Most of the other Arab countries that adopted measures related to entry into their territory to contain the new variant of the coronavirus put into force temporary suspension of flights from Africa, as initially it is believed the mutation came from South Africa and Botswana. However, more recent research leads scientists to assess the variant’s previous existence in other regions of the world.
Egypt suspended nonstop flights from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Located in North Africa, Egypt, however, has entered Canada’s list of countries with banned flights, despite Egyptian authorities denying Omicron cases in the country. Arab countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have already confirmed cases of the variant.
The UAE has suspended the entry of passengers from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Mozambique or those who have been in these countries in the last 14 days before the trip. Saudi Arabia and Oman also adopted the measure regarding the same countries, and Kuwait suspended flights from these seven countries and Malawi and Zambia. In Brazil, a similar action came into effect with the ban on entry from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Brazil has already recorded cases of Omicron.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
