‘Finding goats to run’: S Africa has condemned ‘unnecessary’ sanctions’ | Coronavirus Plague News

“Injustice”, “Nonsense” and “nonsense” – these are some of the words used by the South African health minister to criticize countries around the world that decided to ban travel from the country and its neighbors in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease. a new type of coronavirus.

The problem – dubbed “a variety of worries” on Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO), which renamed itself Omicron after the Greek alphabet – was blamed for an increase in the number of new diseases in South Africa.

Omicron has also been found in Belgium, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel.

“We hope that some of these incidents were not logical,” Health Minister Joe Phaahla told reporters, criticizing officials for “finding goats to solve a global problem”.

‘Wrong Way’

Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States were among those who on Friday joined the United Kingdom in banning flights from southern Africa.

The European Commission, which heads the 27 member states of the European Union, has also stated that the suspension of all flights to and from the region until a “clear understanding of the accident” was reported as a result of the change.

However, WHO on Friday recommended travel so far. The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that it could take weeks to determine if the latest mutations have made the virus more virulent or contagious.

Phaala said the ban “is a wrong approach – it is wrong and is contrary to WHO’s ideas and advice”.

The ban has caused a stir in South Africa’s tourism industry, which has been targeting tourists from affluent areas of the north of the country to bring in much-needed investment.

At the airport in Johannesburg, there were frustrations on Friday as many people tried to return to the UK.

“It is unfair, unjustified, spontaneous and not good for tourism in South Africa,” said one activist.

Phaala, meanwhile, compared the daily epidemics in South Africa to other European countries, saying it was strange that “some countries …

This is in contrast to South Africa which reported about 3,000 daily Friday, from about 300 daily two weeks ago.

“Such an act is shocking and intimidating,” he said, warning that such a response could cause countries to stop talking about their findings.

“It is the opposite of the consequences because what they say is that if you have the ability to follow genomics and develop high skills … this technology should be carried out in secret,” Phaahla said. People will “find it dangerous to disclose” their findings, he argued.

‘Vaccine apartheid’

Tulio de Oliveira, a well-known virologist who announced the discovery of the species, condemned the “strict decision” to suspend flights from the region.

“Sometimes a person is punished for doing things openly, and for doing things quickly,” he said at the same conference.

He also said he did not believe travel restrictions were effective, citing the US, the first country to ban travel to China at the beginning of the epidemic, but had a number of diseases.

“So scientifically [does] not making too much sense. “People often make decisions based on their emotions and not their wisdom,” he said.

Scientists have also suggested that the goal should be to vaccinate as many people as possible in areas where they are less likely to miss out on effective photography.

“That is why we have spoken about the dangers of racism vaccines. The virus can be mutated in the absence of adequate vaccines. It is a pity that this is necessary in order for this to be made clear, “Richard Lessells, a South African infectious disease specialist who specializes in genetic testing, told Reuters.