Blocking Travel News Today

>> blocking travel from a given country, just give us time to assess it better, thats the reason for doing that, not any reason for panic, but we want time to fill in the blanks of what we dont know right now. reporter: while the omicron variant is officially detected in the us researchers believe the ability to enter human cells means the variant is likely already here. >> i would not be surprised if it is. we have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is issuing this degree of tr...

Like the u.s. move to restrict travel from some countries in africa starting monday is a way to buy critical time. >> the issue of blocking travel from a given countries is to just give us time to assess it better. thats the reason for doing that. we want to give us time to really fill in the blanks from what we dont know right now. >> reporter: some experts say its not surprising that the omnicron variant first occurred in africa, with only 7.4% of the countrys population fully vaccinated. >> t...

Live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and around the world. im kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." more countries have detected cases of the covid omnicron variant and more are banning travel from the african countries where the variant was first discovered. we have live coverage from europe and asia. plus, a look at what could be the reason for the surge in smash-and-grab robberies in the united states. >> announce...

That is warning the world and sharing that knowledge openly, and yet you see all of those travel bans. south africa points out that nobody who is infected is allowed to leave the country. you need a test for covid just to be able to fly out of the country. its not possible that anybody who is infected could leave the country. youve had, for instance, the speaker of the national assembly in south africa say that these travel bans are irritating and annoying and it will be devastating for the econ...

Describing this move as out of an abundance of caution, even as theyre still learning more about the new variant of the coronavirus. but we also heard this morning from dr. fauci on early today saying that while the cdc has not yet detected the new variant in the united states, its only a matter of time. take a look. >> we have not detected it yet, but when you have a virus that is showing this degree of transmissibility and youre already having travel-related cases that theyve noted in israel a...

Obviously, that should be a priority right now, especially for high-income countries to do their part, because we only have about 1% of low-income countries actually vaccinated at this point. and thats why were seeing these emerging variants. >> so, dr. fauci, today, was asked about basically these travel bans, and he said, essentially, the issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better. you actually dont think travel bans work. why is that? >> well, as...

African scientists for doing their due diligence to pick up this variant, they picked it up at the same time i am sitting on the advisable committee. when i became aware of it last week, i alerted them, and that was more or less the same time as they also started to see changes in the pcr testing from the virus strains they are testing. so it might be contagious, but so far, very mild cases. as i said, the whole picture might change going forward. ~ , , ~ forward. absolutely, angelique. it is ve...

So it might be contagious, but so far, very mild cases. as i said, the whole picture might change going forward. absolutely, angelique. it is very early stages, as you say. what is your reaction to countries taking precautions and blocking travel from southern african countries? first of all i think it was very premature, and i dont think that the british government should have just acted, they didnt really consult with us, it is like a kneejerk type of reaction. instead of applauding and saying...

Identified in the u.s. right now, he would not be surprised if it is already here. >> we have not detected it yet. when you have a virus that is showing this degree of trans miss built and you are already having travel related cases noted in israel and belgium and other places. when you have a virus like this, it is ultimately going go all over. the issue of blocking travel from a given country is to just give us time to assess it better. thats the reason for doing that. not any reason to panic....

We can on the front lines and we cant do anything if people arent doing something to protect themselves. thats what we hope people continue to try to do. >> health officials are saying, regardless of your vaccination status. can you wear masks, a lot of cities here in d.c. indoor mask mandate has been listed n. new york, we dont have to wear a mask. just show proof of vaccination. with this new variant, i want you to listen to what dr. fauci said about it. i want to ask you about it on the other...