President Joe Biden issued a presidential proclamation Tuesday revoking a November proclamation that enacted travel restrictions on eight southern African nations, including South Africa, as the Omicron variant began to spread.
The proclamation repeals the ban as of 12:01 a.m. ET on December 31.
"The travel restrictions imposed by that proclamation are no longer necessary to protect the public health," Biden said in the new proclamation.
Tuesday's proclamation noted that scientists have determined that people vaccinated against Covid-19 "are protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron variant." It also said that the variant is now in over 100 countries and is "prevalent" in the US, where cases have been rising for weeks.