Ukraine To Ban Arrivals From 8 African Countries Over Omicron Strain From Friday

Citizens of eight African countries with an incidence of the new Omicron coronavirus strain, as well as people with recent travel history in these countries, will be barred from entering Ukraine starting December 3, the Ukrainian government said in a resolution adopted on Thursday

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2021) Citizens of eight African countries with an incidence of the new Omicron coronavirus strain, as well as people with recent travel history in these countries, will be barred from entering Ukraine starting December 3, the Ukrainian government said in a resolution adopted on Thursday.

"From 00:00 on December 3, 2021 (22:00 GMT, Thursday), for the period of quarantine, it is prohibited to cross the state border for foreigners and stateless persons ... who arrived from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, and were on their territory for at least seven days within the last 14 days," the resolution said.

According to the document, the ban will not apply to foreigners who permanently or temporarily reside in Ukraine, who are married to a Ukrainian citizen or have children in the country, as well as to representatives of diplomatic missions, international organizations and their family members.

At the same time, Kiev introduced mandatory self-isolation for two weeks for Ukrainians arriving from the eight African countries.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the aim of the resolution is to prevent the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus strain in Ukraine.

The Omicron strain was first detected last week in South Africa. The strain could be more dangerous and vaccine-resistant due to the greater number of mutations. Many countries closed their borders to foreign passengers arriving from African countries regardless of whether they hold certificates of full vaccination or recovery from COVID-19.