The flight ban applies to the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. According to the document, the restriction will last from December 14 to 27.
The document states that the Council of Ministers introduced “a ban at airports registered in the civil airports registry, landing fields restricted in the landing field registry, and landing civil aircraft carrying passengers on international flights” in the above-mentioned countries. . When the document is signed by the Prime Minister, it will be sent for publication in the Laws Journal.
The government announced the ban on November 29. At the time, Health Minister Adam Nedzelsky informed that the government would ban flights as part of an “alert package” related to the development of the Omikron variant. The minister explained that this measure is in line with the recommendations of the European Agency for Infection Control.
Research into the characteristics of the new virus variant in RIVM is ongoing. According to the first lab results published this week, Omikron is less restricted in antibody response from vaccines and naturally developed immunity from the delta variant.
This means that vaccinated people who were previously ill are more likely to have Omicron. The RIVM also notes that although the course of the disease is currently mild, its faster spread will make it more likely to reach weaker people. As a result, this may lead to an increase in the number of hospitalized patients.
