Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Health experts question Biden's new travel bans: 'Their role in public health is minimal'

Health experts question Biden's new travel bans: 'Their role in public health is minimal'

Biden previously insinuated Trump's travel ban on China was 'racist' and 'xenophobic'

President Biden's travel ban on eight African countries immediately following news of the omicron variant will have "minimal" impact on stemming its spread, some health experts say.

Biden's travel bans on South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, went into effect on Monday after the first reported cases of the new variant were discovered in southern Africa.

"Their role in public health is minimal," Dr. Nicole Saphier told Fox News Digital.

Saphier said the stricter measures, such as PCR 48 hours before the flight and a rapid antigen test the day of the flight, will have a greater impact on the battle against omicron, but she predicted mostly unhelpful and even adverse consequences to accompany Biden's decision.

"Travel restrictions typically cause a mass exodus of people in a chaotic fashion which can further lead to viral transmission leading people to be creative finding ways to enter the country, often without any public health checkpoints," she said.

Saphier, a Fox News contributor, was one of several experts to suggest not interrupting international trade because omicron, she argued, is already in the U.S.

"Ultimately, omicron is already in the United States, " Saphier continued. "It is only a matter of time until our sequencing catches up to find it. No amount of boosting, masking or travel restrictions will get us to zero Covid. The best we can do is live our healthiest lives and do our part to lower transmission without disrupting internationals commerce and trade. In the long-term, the economic health of our nation may be more important than Covid case counts."

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said he thinks travel bans help slow the spread of the virus "a little" for "a week or two" and sends an important signal to other countries, but he too predicted that it will not be a huge asset in stemming the spread of the new strain. What's more, he said, South Africa was transparent about omicron and immediately alerted the world. With Biden's ban, Jha said the country now feels as though it's being "punished."

"We have to be very thoughtful about travel bans," Jha said. "They feel like an easy thing to do. They don't work all that well. They have a real cost to them."


Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel said a travel ban could be useful if it could "completely cut off all travel." He pointed to New Zealand, fox example, as an initial success but it ultimately failed because once the vaccine was introduced, the country didn't have enough of it.

"In an ideal situation, if you could completely block off an area and not lock anybody down … if you cut off travel and stop the intro of a pathogen, that's pretty helpful. But that's not like anything that we're talking about here," Siegel told Fox News Digital. "In this situation it looks like this virus has been around awhile. And it has spread to multiple countries, including ours."

The arrival lobby of the international terminal  is deserted at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. Japan confirmed on Tuesday its first case of the new omicron coronavirus variant, a visitor who recently arrived from Namibia, an official said. Japan announced Monday it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors from around the world as a new coronavirus variant spreads.


"You have to have a really, really complete travel ban the way Israel is doing to have any impact," he continued. "What we're doing is making a hand-waving gesture. Our travel ban will not be comprehensive enough to have an impact."

"I think it's an example of too little, too late," he said.

Siegel said a travel ban also wouldn't work in the U.S. because of the administration's immigration policies that have resulted in "leaky borders."

A man walks through a deserted part of Johannesburg's OR Tambo's airport in South Africa on Monday. The World Health Organization urged countries around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African nations due to concern over the new omicron variant.


"They're not going to make a huge impact, Jake," CNN's Sanjay Gupta told Jake Tapper about the bans on Monday. "This is a risk/reward proposition. The benefit of doing this is you may slow down some of the entry of the virus into the country, but it's very porous as you're mentioning because a lot of people who are citizens will be coming back as well and could potentially be carrying the virus."

"But overall, I think it's hard to make the case that the travel ban will have much of an impact long term," he added. "It is quite likely over the next day or so we'll hear that this variant has been detected in the United States and that should surprise nobody. If you go back and look at last year, there were lessons, Jake. I believe the ban on European travel was March – middle of March some time of 2020, March 13, I believe. By March 18, significant clusters all over the country. So, you know, the virus is likely already here. Likely already spreading, we just haven't detected it yet."

Baylor College of Medicine professor Peter Hotez said on "Fox News Sunday" that he too is "not a big fan of travel bans" because the virus tends to spread so quickly in multiple countries.

Biden himself criticized the use of travel bans under former President Donald Trump. As a presidential candidate in 2020, his campaign posted an ad that insinuated his travel ban was "racist" and "xenophobic."

"We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus," Biden also tweeted as a candidate the day after Trump imposed travel restrictions from China in response to the coronavirus. "We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
×