Travel bans and restrictions imposed on South Africa and other African countries over a new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus variant aren’t justified, South Africa’s health minister said Friday. The new strain, dubbed Omicron by the World Health Organization, was first reported in South Africa earlier this week. The actions of some countries, including the United Kingdom, are “unjustified,” Joe Phaahla, South Africa’s health minister, told a virtual media briefing. South African scientists made information available on Omicron in the interest of transparency and there are concerns the variant may be more transmissible, officials told reporters. But there is no evidence of that at this time and even if it was more transmissible, that doesn’t mean it will cause more severe cases in people, Phaahla added. Travel bans go against the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO), South African officials noted. Both WHO and South African officials portrayed the bans as punishing the …