The United States has lauded South Africa for identifying the new Covid strain called Omicron and swiftly sharing this information with the world .

U.S Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken praised South Africa’s scientists for the quick identification of the Omicron variant and South Africa’s government for its transparency in sharing this information, which should serve as a model for the world.

Bliken spoke with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor and emphasized the importance of continued partnership among the United States, the African Union, South Africa, and the other impacted nations in Africa to help vaccinate populations and combat the impacts of COVID-19.

U.S 's praise of South Africa is seen as another dig at China’s handling of the original outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

United States has often criticised China for lack of transparency on the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan before spreading around the world. It has also attacked attempts by Chinese authorities to stonewall attempts to launch a fair probe in to origins of the virus.

The U.S has announced restriction on travel for non-U.S. citizens from South Africa and seven other countries starting Monday, part of a global effort to stem the spread of the omicron variant of Covid-19.