Recently, South Africa has reported a rise in cases of Omicron variant. As a precautionary measure, Israel has become the first country in the world to shut its borders for foreign travelers due to the Omicron fear. Following Israel, Japan also has barred foreign travelers from entering into the country.
Many countries have registered either confirmed or suspected cases of the Omicron which is the mutated variant of Covid-19, including Australia, Botswana, Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and Scotland.
Apart from banning the foreign travelers in the country, Israel has also made quarantine mandatory for all Israelis arriving the borders from abroad. Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, "Restrictions on the country's borders is not an easy step, but it's a temporary and necessary step."
The government of Japan also announced to shut the country's borders for foreign travelers keeping in view the rising cases of the Omicron variant. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he is ready to take criticism for being too cautious. He said, "These are temporary, exceptional measures that we are taking for safety’s sake, until there is clearer information about the Omicron variant".
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised, "The overall global risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is assessed as very high", reported Reuters. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' infectious diseases expert, said, "We have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility ... it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over."