On Nov. 27, the nation’s deputy health secretary, Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, published a statement saying that travel restrictions and border closures were “unhelpful measures” that affect the economy and well-being of the people. This comes as a response to the discovery of a new variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, called Omicron. The CCP virus, otherwise known as the novel coronavirus, is the virus that causes COVID-19. The B.1.1.529 variant known as Omicron was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on Nov. 24. While the WHO admits there is presently no information to suggest the symptoms or severity of Omicron will be different from existing CCP virus strains, there are concerns over the number of mutations evident within Omicron, which is currently being studied. In his statement, Ramírez said, based on the information available on the risks of the new variant, restricting travel and closing borders is disproportionate to what existing scientific …