Trevor Noah, a South African, explains why the Omicron-fueled Southern Africa travel ban is 'total bulls--t'
"For most of 2021, the world has been fighting off various COVID variants," Trevor Noah said on Monday's Daily Show. And just when we thought we were getting Delta under control, "last week scientists in South Africa announced that they discovered a new variant, and what they saw is freaking people out."
The big concern about the Omicron variant is the alarming number of mutations to its spike protein, Noah said, but "right now, basically all we know about this strain is that it's called Omicron," and "even the name of the virus has a complicated story." The World Health Organization skipped Nu and Xi to get to Omicron, he said, and passing over Xi in particular "really shows you the clout that China has. Because the World Health Organization is like, 'Uh, we don't want to offend one guy in China.' Meanwhile, Greece is over here, like, 'What?!? You stole our whole alphabet, malaka!'"
And even though it will be a week or two before we know how contagious and dangerous Omicron is, the U.S. and other countries wasted no time banning travel from South Africa and seven neighboring countries. "And as a South African — who does not have the variant! — I think this travel ban is total bulls--t," Noah said. We don't know where Omicron started, and "we don't know how long it's been around. It's everywhere, from Hong Kong to Israel to Spain, so why aren't you banning travel from all those countries, too?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Maybe America is buying itself a couple of weeks before it gets overrun with Omicron, but don't forget about the costs of this action," Noah said. "Because you do realize that other countries are paying attention, and they realize that if they're going to get punished for telling the world about new variants, they're gonna stop telling the world whenever their scientists discover new variants."
Maybe Noah, as a South African, is less than impartial, but Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease and vaccine expert at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, agreed that the African travel bans are "so demoralizing." Variants develop in large, unvaccinated populations, so "I feel the people in Southern Africa are paying for this twice," he said. "One, they're not vaccinated, and now we're going to punish them further in implementing travel restrictions, which we already know don't work. They haven't worked this entire epidemic, why would they work now?"
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Paris Olympics: will it be a success?
Today's Big Question Organisers hope the 'spectacle' of the 2024 Games will lift the cloud of negativity that has hung over the build-up
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 July
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: The dark world of illicit gambling
Podcast Plus, the pension pot shortfall and Obama's silence on Harris
By The Week Staff Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Long Covid and chronic pain: is it all in the mind?
The Explainer 'Retraining the brain' could offer a solution for some long Covid sufferers
By The Week UK Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published