Omicron Covid Variant and US Immigration Impact Thoughts?

[SalishSea 17,970]

14 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

SA finally managed to get off the red list in the UK and now they are back on it! People in SA are angry

They really can't blame the UK for their current situation.  They need to mask, social distance, get vaccinated as able, etc.  

[Boiler 45,733]

Eswatini was on the banned list for the UK, I had never heard of Eswatini and was wondering where was that, more a question of keeping up with the name changes.

[gregcrs2 1,778]

5 hours ago, Mike&Heidi said:

Trying to ascertain what this will mean for the trip my wife and I had scheduled for 17DEC21. She's got her Advance Parole doc, but still doesn't fit the exception for LPR. I wonder where that puts her...

Unfortunate timing.

President Biden has signed the official proclamation restricting travel from southern Africa that will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

The proclamation will apply to those who have been “physically present” in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe during the “14-day period preceding their entry, or attempted entry into the United States.”

The proclamation includes a list of those exempted from the new restrictions including citizens, lawful permanent residents, and noncitizens who are the spouse of a citizen or permanent resident.

The order will remain in effect until terminated by the President and will not apply to any flights scheduled to arrive in the US that departed prior to 12:01 a.m. ET Monday.

Edited November 27, 2021 by gregcrs2

[Redro 4,611]

24 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Eswatini was on the banned list for the UK, I had never heard of Eswatini and was wondering where was that, more a question of keeping up with the name changes.

Eswatini used to be called Swaziland. It's inside South Africa. 

[Boiler 45,733]

9 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Eswatini used to be called Swaziland. It's inside South Africa. 

And it means swazi land!

[Redro 4,611]

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

They really can't blame the UK for their current situation.  They need to mask, social distance, get vaccinated as able, etc.  

Do you really think compliance in SA is lower than other countries? 

The variant was first spotted in Botswana but South African scientists identified it. 

I know SA had issues getting vaccines because they don't have access to the vaccine/ all the doses were taken by other countries... 

Attached screenshots about the anger and the reason by the anger. 

Creating a travel ban makes no sense as the variant is already in other countries. Why punish Southern African countries? What about Israel, Belgium and Hong Kong? Why aren't they on a travel ban list?  

Countries should either shut down all travel or actually implement real quarantines for incoming travelers.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Kor2USA

[SalishSea 17,970]

43 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Do you really think compliance in SA is lower than other countries? 

The variant was first spotted in Botswana but South African scientists identified it. 

I know SA had issues getting vaccines because they don't have access to the vaccine/ all the doses were taken by other countries... 

Attached screenshots about the anger and the reason by the anger. 

Creating a travel ban makes no sense as the variant is already in other countries. Why punish Southern African countries? What about Israel, Belgium and Hong Kong? Why aren't they on a travel ban list?  

Countries should either shut down all travel or actually implement real quarantines for incoming travelers.

 

 

All I said was that it makes no sense for them to blame the UK, or any other country for their situation.   
 

If Americans are banned from traveling to another country, I don’t blame that country.  I blame anti-masking covidiots holding super-spreader events across the US.   Pretty simple.   It is known how this virus is transmitted, and there are very simple ways to reduce its transmission.

 

And implementing quarantines for incoming travelers also does not work, as evidenced by New Zealand.   It is an expensive and logistical nightmare.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Jorgedig

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

All I said was that it makes no sense for them to blame the UK, or any other country for their situation.   
 

If Americans are banned from traveling to another country, I don’t blame that country.  I blame anti-masking covidiots holding super-spreader events across the US.   Pretty simple.   It is known how this virus is transmitted, and there are very simple ways to reduce its transmission.

 

And implementing quarantines for incoming travelers also does not work, as evidenced by New Zealand.   It is an expensive and logistical nightmare.

Never said South Africans blamed the UK. Just that they were angry about a new travel ban... 

All countries have covidiots. I think we both agree on that point. 

[Mike E 11,741]

3 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

If Americans are banned from traveling to another country, I don’t blame that.  I blame anti-masking covidiots holding super-spreader events across the US.   Pretty simple.   It is known how this virus is transmitted, and there are very simple ways to reduce its transmission..

Masking doesn’t work.  Just compare Colorado to New Mexico now.  The surgical  and cloth masks that most people use are useless.   
 

They pack people like sardines into  airliners, most of whom are wearing useless cloth and surgical masks, and there is yet to be any proof of anyone catching Covid on an airplane. 
 

I’m triple vaccinated, and i  am definitely  anti-masker. I attend superspreader events like cinemas, restaurants, airline flights, and cruises as frequently as possible. 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Mike E

[Mike&Heidi 10]

10 hours ago, gregcrs2 said:

President Biden has signed the official proclamation restricting travel from southern Africa that will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

The proclamation will apply to those who have been “physically present” in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe during the “14-day period preceding their entry, or attempted entry into the United States.”

The proclamation includes a list of those exempted from the new restrictions including citizens, lawful permanent residents, and noncitizens who are the spouse of a citizen or permanent resident.

The order will remain in effect until terminated by the President and will not apply to any flights scheduled to arrive in the US that departed prior to 12:01 a.m. ET Monday.

Thanks for finding that quote. The articles I had read did not include that detail, and I hadn't yet found the official proclamation.

 

I think the challenge will now lie with boarding an airline.

[Redro 4,611]

50 minutes ago, Mike&Heidi said:

Thanks for finding that quote. The articles I had read did not include that detail, and I hadn't yet found the official proclamation.

 

I think the challenge will now lie with boarding an airline.

Make sure your partner travels back to the States with the marriage certificate and whatever other documentation they have to prove they're allowed to return to the States. 

 

[Redro 4,611]

And now two cases of the omicron variant have been identified in the U.K . . . A travel ban is not going to stop the spread. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59445388

Edited November 27, 2021 by Kor2USA

[millefleur 5,047]

55 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Make sure your partner travels back to the States with the marriage certificate and whatever other documentation they have to prove they're allowed to return to the States.

And call the airline to make sure ahead of time that there won't be issues. As they will be the ones who check everything before she will get a boarding pass.

[millefleur 5,047]

20 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

And now two cases of the omicron variant have been identified in the U.K . . . A travel ban is not going to stop the spread. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59445388

To be honest I'm kinda shocked how this even left SA so quickly. I traveled abroad recently and everyone was requiring vaccine certificates AND negative PCR tests no older than 72 hours. For unvaccinated people who were US citizens, the test had to be less than 24 hours. The airlines would not let people even get a boarding pass without showing the proper documentation. There's no easy peasy check in anymore with the instant boarding pass on your phone/print out at home, you have to go to the check in counter and get all documents checked and only then do they hand over the boarding pass.

 

Is it possible the PCR tests just do not work and someone can be infecting/spreading despite a negative result? Are people faking PCR test results? I'm just so confused. If we have technology that is supposed to detect infections why is it still not under control? I assume the UK would've had similar testing/vaccine requirements so how the heck did it get there? It's just baffling to me.

Edited November 27, 2021 by millefleur

[Boiler 45,733]

No test is 100% accurate