Omicron variant: WHO asks vulnerable and unvaccinated to avoid travel

The World Health Organization has said that vulnerable people should delay travel if they are not completely vaccinated.

In its latest travel advice, the UN agency included people in this category over 60 and those with conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. An earlier WHO statement advised against any travel for a vulnerable group.

This is in line with WHO's previous travel advice during the pandemic and raises concerns about the new Omicron variant. The WHO has also reiterated its position that blanket travel bans do not prevent the spread of the variant.

South Africa alerted the world last week about the variant. Many countries then continued to impose restrictions on travel from countries to South Africa.

"Strict travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they will place a heavy burden on life and food," the WHO said in a statement.

"In addition, they could adversely affect global health efforts during a pandemic by disincentivizing countries to report and share epidemiological and sequencing data."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "deeply concerned" about the isolation of South Africa, adding that "the people of Africa can not be held responsible for the immorally low level of vaccinations."

Earlier, the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that there were still many questions regarding Omicron, including its transmission, the severity of the disease it could provoke, and the effectiveness of tests and vaccinations.

Dr Tedros called on WHO member states to take "rational, proportionate" measures in comments posted at a closed-door meeting on the WHO website.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the broad region had been the victim of unfair discrimination, adding that the ban was ineffective in preventing the spread of the variant.