Trevor Noah blasts African travel ban over omicron

Trevor Noah is ripping the Biden administration's travel ban to South Africa and several nearby countries amid the discovery of the omicron variant, calling it "total bullshit."

"Omicron has already been done in over a dozen countries around the world. We don't know where it started. We don't know how long it's been around. It's everywhere - from Hong Kong, to Israel, to Spain," the "Daily Show" host said Monday on his Comedy Central late-night program.

"So why aren't you banning travel from all of those countries too? Huh? Only the African countries?" the 37-year-old South African comedian exclaimed.

The travel ban, which took effect on Monday, restricts travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia. The omicron variant has been confirmed in more than a dozen countries around the globe.

"I still don't get the logic," Noah told viewers. "You think omicron is going to get to Europe and then just decide to stay there?"

"I mean, maybe America is buying itself a couple of weeks before it gets overrun with omicron. But don't forget," Noah warned, "about the cost of this action too."

"You do realize that other countries are paying attention. And they realize that if they're going to get punished for telling the world about new variants, they're going to stop telling the world whenever their scientists discover new variants."

"I'm just saying don't be surprised when the next variant pops up in Europe and Italian scientists come out acting like nothing is wrong: 'Everything is fine. This is just, how you say, a TikTok challenge,' " Noah said.

"That's where we are right now: There's a new coronavirus that we don't know anything about. Because of that, I can't go home to my uncle's baby shower," Noah continued, before joking, "Man, I really wanted to go. You don't see your uncle getting showered by babies much."