The Omicron variant and travel bans are hurting southern Africa

SOUTH AFRICAHIV had a rotten 2021. Corrupt politicians plundered covid-19 relief funds, deadly riots took more than 330 lives and rolling power cuts hobbled the economy. Yet South African scientists have deservedly won praise this year. It was local virologists and epidemiologists who had honed their skills studying another virus, , who discovered the of covid. When cases spiked unexpectedly, they studied samples, determined that it was a new and worrying variant and—most important—shared their findings immediately.No good deed goes unpunished. Hours later Britain shut its airports to flights from South Africa and several other southern African countries. America and the European Union soon followed suit. Many South Africans felt they were being unfairly punished for their country’s scientific rigour and openness. It is far from clear that Omicron originated in South Africa. And it is in the rich countries that have isolated the region, southern Africans complain. Moreover, the travel ban may also be hampering the race to learn more about Omicron by impeding supplies of the reagents needed to study it.