New Covid variant Omicron likely to derail travel industry recovery

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the newly identified variant, B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern, named Omicron. Southern Africa accounts for only a tiny portion of the world's international travel, but sudden border restrictions and route suspensions have left some carriers with an uncertain future. Willie Walsh, head of global airlines industry body IATA, called the restrictions a 'knee-jerk reaction.'

Even though it is early days in being able to predict how the new variant will impact the world, Omicron is another reminder government response - overreactions, some say - can throw off a hotel recovery many saw as finally just getting global momentum. Airlines now face a return to the uncertainty of shifting rules and public-health developments that threw customer plans into chaos and undermined demand earlier in the pandemic. "It's really important that there are no knee jerk responses here, especially with relation to South Africa. South Africa is picking up interesting and important information for which we are doing the proper risk assessment and risk management. We have seen in the past that when there is any mention of a variant then everyone is closing borders and restricting travel. It is really important that we remain open and focused on characterising the problem, not punishing countries for doing outstanding scientific work and being open and transparent about what they are seeing and what they are finding," said Mike Ryan, Executive Director, World Health Organization.

According to IATA, International travel stopped in April 2020; and the virus spread despite the assurances of our political leaders that banning travel would control it. To date, over 260 million people are known to have been infected. Many more cases are probably unreported. Meanwhile, the human and economic cost of de-connecting the world may never truly be calculated.

Proven personal hygiene measures like hand washing, social distancing and mask-wearing are things we all must do. Contact tracing is the most important tool for governments to control the spread once any coronavirus variant is detected in a community. This far into the crisis, it beggars belief that governments have not made more progress on this basic measure.

Governments must not lose sight of the endgame, which is making vaccines available to all. The appalling disparity that exists in vaccination rates between the developed and developing worlds cannot be ignored. Less than 10 per cent of the African continent is fully vaccinated, while developed nations cajole their populations to take boosters. Planeloads of vaccines will do far more to tame this virus than travel restrictions can ever achieve.