US authorities announce that the travel ban that applies to countries in southern Africa will expire on December 31st.

The travel restrictions came into effect at the end of November, when the omicron variant of the coronavirus was discovered in South Africa.

The decision was recommended by the American equivalent of the Swedish Public Health Agency.

”"The restrictions have given us time to understand the omicron variant. We know that the vaccines work against omicron, especially the booster doses," writes White House deputy press secretary Kevin Munoz on Twitter.

The countries affected by the travel ban are South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini (Swaziland), Mozambique and Malawi.TT