As the COVID-19 omicron variant is causing an escalation of cases in Latin America and the Caribbean (although without a proportional increase of severe cases or deaths), some governments are tempted to reinstate measures to restrict the international movement of people, which have already proven insufficient to contain the pandemic.
That is why the Airports Council International Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) issued a statement on Monday recommending governments not to follow this course of action, which could compromise the recovery of the aviation and tourism industry.
The organization that brings together the main airports in the region stated that the progress of vaccination campaigns accompanied by the elimination of restrictions allowed recovery of 45% in January 2021 to 73% in November.
«A study conducted by Oxera and Edge Health on the impact of air travel restrictions on the spread of variants in the UK has shown that travel restrictions are ineffective in preventing the spread of a new variant; they can only slightly delay it,» ACI-LAC said. » Likewise, this study shows that the additional testing requirements established by the UK government had no effect in preventing the spread of Omicron, leading to the conclusion that once a variant is present in a territory, travel restrictions have no effect in reducing its transmission,» they continued.
ACI-LAC, therefore, urges a continued evidence-based and risk-based approach, pointing out that the World Health Organization itself does not support reinstating the international travel ban. However, this often conflicts with the political urgencies of individual governments, both in the region and around the world.
«It has been proven that air travel is safe, and Latin American airports have been very responsible in implementing all the measures recommended by international organizations to prevent contagions,» commented Dr. Rafael Echevarne, Director General of ACI-LAC.
«The best way to combat COVID-19, including all its variants, are vaccination of the population, proper use of masks, and cleaning protocols. Air transport is fundamental to the economic and social development of our countries and we cannot jeopardize all the important recovery work we have done in the last year,» he concluded.
