Southern Africa travel ban locks away scenic treasures

Another Covid variant has caused some countries to restrict travel from southern Africa, another sign of how small the world is.

Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa (BWO photo).

The world is a small place. Every day we learn a bit more about how small.

Setting climate change aside, we’re back to damage control with the virus. A new variation found in a lab in South Africa’s Gauteng Province, location of Johannesburg, has led several governments to put another clamp on travel from six southern Africa nations.

A microbe blocking travel from Tambo International Airport in South Africa, 5,635 miles to London Heathrow, shows how small the world is.

I visited South Africa in 2004 and 2019, finding it the world’s best travel destination, at least in my world. I’ve been writing about it with this new (at least to me) Substack format.

I plan to continue writing about travel to Africa and the world, regardless of travel restrictions, to augment what I write on my home area, the U.S. West. There is no need to join or pay anything to follow along at terryjrichard.substack.com.

Tweets that capture the frustration in southern Africa right now:

NBC News @NBCNews

Experts are concerned about a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people. nbcnews.to/3DVBt6V

November 26th 2021

118 Retweets157 Likes

Nick Hedley @nickhedley

South Africa’s tourism industry has had a hellish two years. Lockdowns, travel bans, electricity cuts, reputation-damaging riots. And now a brand new travel ban at the worst possible time. This December was a lifeline. There will be a lot more small business casualties.

November 26th 2021

273 Retweets695 Likes

Justin Norman @just_norm

So let me get this straight - South Africa has world-class genomics labs and scientists and as a result, they are the ones to discover these new variants. And then after they do, everyone calls it the South African variant and bans travel from SA

November 26th 2021

1,142 Retweets2,695 Likes

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