Southern African countries taken off the no-travel list by European Union

Southern African countries faced travel bans since Omicron made its way into Europe. But now, the European Union has decided to take off these countries from the no-travel list. It has been reported that European Union member states have agreed to resume air travel with Southern African countries.
The Southern African countries in question here are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Travellers from these countries will still have to show a negative RT PCR test report that is not older than 72 hours.

The travel ban on the above-mentioned Southern African countries was first imposed on November 26, after the Omicron variant was first detected in Southern Africa.
According to data by Oxford University, the latest COVID 19 wave by Omicron peaked three to four weeks ago in these Southern African countries. With the exception of Botswana, where cases are still on the rise. Omicron has become the dominant variant in European countries such as Denmark, France, and Belgium. However, Delta is still the dominant variant in most other countries.

This time around, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID 19 are not high, and could be the result of vaccination, and booster shots. However, with so many people falling prey to the Omicron virus, it could have an effect on the health systems.