南非总统表示他对
Omicron 的旅行禁令“深感失望”
在周日向全国发表的讲话中，南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨 (Cyril Ramaphosa) 批评了越来越多的国家，这些国家对南非及其邻国实施了针对 Covid-19 新出现的 Omicron 变体的旅行禁令。
“我们对几个国家在发现 Omicron 变体后决定禁止来自包括我们自己在内的一些南部非洲国家的旅行深感失望。拉马福萨说，这明显背离了许多国家在上个月在罗马举行的 G20 国家会议上做出的承诺，这是完全没有道理的。
Ramaphosa 继续按名称列出国家和地区，并呼吁取消旅行限制。
“这些限制是完全没有道理的，是对我们国家和我们南部非洲姐妹国家的不公平歧视。旅行禁令没有科学依据，也不能有效防止这种变种的传播。旅行禁令唯一会做的就是进一步损害受影响国家的经济，削弱他们应对大流行病以及从大流行中恢复的能力，”他说。
Ramaphosa 赞扬了该国科学家对变异的早期检测以及他们在了解其潜在影响方面所做的工作。
他说，Omicron 变种是过去两周在豪登省发现的大部分感染的罪魁祸首，现在也出现在其他省份。他证实，该国的感染人数正在急剧上升。
他说：“如果病例继续攀升，我们可以预期在未来几周内甚至更早进入第四波感染浪潮。”
一些背景：南非科学家长期以来一直认为，在此期间，南非即将迎来第四波浪潮，拉马福萨重申了这一点。
“这不应该让人感到意外，”他说。
Ramaphosa 鼓励南非人接种疫苗，并表示政府正在探索疫苗授权以加快疫苗的普及。目前，南非约有 35% 的人口接种了疫苗。他说，该国将保持冠状病毒 1 级，这是该国最低的水平之一。
“冠状病毒将长期与我们同在。因此，我们必须找到管理大流行的方法，同时限制对经济的干扰并确保连续性，”他说。
US imposes travel restrictions over new Covid-19 variant
South African president says he is "deeply disappointed" in Omicron travel bans
In an address to the nation on Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa criticized a growing list of countries that have instituted travel bans against South Africa and its neighbors over the emerging Omicron variant of Covid-19.
“We are deeply disappointed by the decision of several countries to prohibit travel from a number of southern African countries including our own following the identification of the Omicron variant. This is a clear and completely unjustified departure from the commitment that many of these countries made at that meeting of the G20 countries in Rome last month,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa went on to list the countries and territories by name and called on the travel restrictions to be lifted.
“These restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our southern African sister countries. The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant. The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to and also to recover from the pandemic,” he said.
Ramaphosa praised the country's scientists for their early detection of the variant and their work in understanding its potential impact.
He said that the Omicron variant is responsible for most of the infections found in the Gauteng province over the last two weeks and is now appearing in other provinces. He confirmed that the country is seeing a sharp rise in infections.
“If cases continue to climb, we can expect to enter a fourth wave of infections within the next few weeks, if not sooner,” he said.
Some context: South African scientists have long believed a fourth wave was on the way in South Africa during this time, something Ramaphosa reiterated.
“This should not come as a surprise,” he said.
Ramaphosa encouraged South Africans to get vaccinated and said that the government is exploring vaccine mandates to accelerate vaccine uptake. Currently, around 35% of the population is vaccinated in South Africa. He said that the country will remain at coronavirus Level 1, one of the country's lowest levels.
“The coronavirus will be with us for the long term. We must therefore find ways of managing the pandemic while limiting disruptions to the economy and ensuring continuity,” he said.
