Rich countries of the world

The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant.

The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to, and recover from, the pandemic.

We call upon all those countries that have imposed travel bans on our country and our Southern African sister countries to urgently reverse their decisions and lift the ban they have imposed before any further damage is done to our economies and to the livelihoods of our people.

There is no scientific justification for keeping these restrictions in place.

We know that this virus, like all viruses, does mutate and form new variants.

We also know that the likelihood of the emergence of more severe forms of variants is increased significantly where people are not vaccinated.

That is why we have joined many countries, organisations and people around the world who have been fighting for equal access to vaccines for everyone.

We have said that vaccine inequality not only costs lives and livelihoods in those countries that are denied access, but that it also threatens global efforts to overcome the pandemic.

The emergence of the Omicron variant should be a wake-up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot be allowed to continue.

Until everyone is vaccinated, everyone will be at risk.

Until everyone is vaccinated, we should expect that more variants will emerge.

These variants may well be more transmissible, may cause more severe disease, and may be more resistant to the current vaccines.

Instead of prohibiting travel, the rich countries of the world need to support the efforts of developing economies to access and to manufacture enough vaccine doses for their people without delay.

Fellow South Africans,

The emergence of the Omicron variant and the recent rise in cases have made it clear that we will have to live with this virus for some time to come.

We have the knowledge, we have the experience and we have the tools to manage this pandemic, to resume many of our daily activities, and to rebuild our economy.

We have the ability to determine the path our country will take. Every one of us needs to get vaccinated.

Every one of us needs to practice the basic health protocols like wearing masks, washing or sanitising our hands regularly, and avoiding crowded and closed spaces.

Every one of us needs to take responsibility for our own health and the health of those around us.

Every one of us has a role to play.

We will not be defeated by this pandemic.

We have already started learning to live with it.

We will endure, we will overcome and we will thrive. God bless South Africa and protect her people.

I thank you.